August 2021 Archive | Court of Appeals Court Opinions

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Des Moines County, Michael J. Schilling, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Greer, P.J., Ahlers, J., and Danilson, S.J.  Opinion by Danilson, S.J.  (7 pages)

            Michael Ripperger appeals the district court decision denying his application for postconviction relief (PCR) on the ground it was untimely.  OPINION HOLDS: Ripperger’s claims were based on a clarification of existing law and did not present a new ground of fact or law, and, therefore, were time-barred.  Because Ripperger’s claims are barred under the three-year statute of limitations, we do not have authority to consider the other issues he raises on appeal.  We affirm the district court’s decision denying Ripperger’s PCR application.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Warren County, Brendan Greiner, District Associate Judge.  APPEAL DISMISSED.  Considered by Mullins, P.J., and May and Ahlers, JJ.  Opinion by May, J.  (2 pages)

            Matthew Daugharthy appeals after pleading guilty to driving while barred.  OPINION HOLDS: Because Daugharthy has not established good cause, we may not consider his appeal.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Lee (South) County, Wyatt Peterson, Judge.  APPEAL DISMISSED.  Considered by Bower, C.J., and Vaitheswaran and Schumacher, JJ.  Opinion by Vaitheswaran, J.  (6 pages)

            Matthew Crews appeals following his guilty plea to first-degree burglary, raising challenges to a statutory “appeal bar.”  OPINION HOLDS: We dismiss his appeal.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Calhoun County, Kurt J. Stoebe, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Bower, C.J., and Vaitheswaran and Schumacher, JJ.  Opinion by Schumacher, J. (12 pages)

            Victor Scalco Jr. appeals his convictions for domestic abuse assault causing bodily injury and false imprisonment.  OPINION HOLDS: The district court did not abuse its discretion in ruling on evidentiary objections during the criminal trial.  Also, the court did not abuse its discretion by denying defense counsel’s objection during closing arguments.  Scalco’s claims of ineffective assistance of counsel cannot be raised in this direct appeal.  We do not adopt the plain error doctrine.  Scalco’s convictions are affirmed.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Warren County, Mark F. Schlenker, District Associate Judge.  APPEAL DISMISSED.  Considered by Mullins, P.J., and May and Ahlers, JJ.  Opinion by Ahlers, J.  (3 pages)

            Morgan Shields appeals from his guilty plea, contending his ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claim is sufficient to establish good cause for the appeal.  OPINION HOLDS: Shields failed to establish good cause, and we do not have authority to hear ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claims on direct appeal.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Dubuque County, Mark T. Hostager, District Associate Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Bower, C.J., Schumacher, J., Vogel, S.J.  Opinion by Bower, C.J.  (3 pages)

            Alfonson Faison Jr. appeals his conviction for domestic abuse assault causing bodily injury following a July 6, 2019 jury verdict.  On appeal, he asserts the district court’s failure to instruct that there is no duty to retreat is reversible error and argues trial counsel was ineffective in failing to challenge the jury instructions regarding his justification defense.  OPINION HOLDS: The jury-instruction issue is not preserved for review.  Iowa Code section 814.7 (Supp. 2019) precludes our consideration of Faison’s ineffective-assistance claim.  We affirm.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Scott County, Mark D. Cleve, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Bower, C.J., and Vaitheswaran and Schumacher, JJ.  Opinion by Bower, C.J.  (2 pages)

            Sean Farmer appeals his conviction for first-degree robbery, asserting his trial counsel was ineffective in failing to file a motion to suppress an alleged overly suggestive identification.  OPINION HOLDS: This court does not address ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claims on direct appeal.  We therefore affirm.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Warren County, William A. Price, District Associate Judge.  APPEAL DISMISSED.  Considered by Tabor, P.J., Greer, J., and Scott, S.J.  Opinion by Scott, S.J.  (3 pages)

            Ronald Vansickle appeals his conviction, following a guilty plea, of driving while barred as a habitual offender.  He argues his plea is invalid as not being entered knowingly, voluntarily, and intelligently because he received ineffective assistance of counsel.  OPINION HOLDS: We dismiss the appeal.v

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Scott County, Joel W. Barrows, Judge.  APPEAL DISMISSED.  Considered by Greer, P.J., and Doyle and Gamble, S.J.J.  Opinion by Gamble, S.J.  (3 pages)

            Dominic Major appeals his sentence following his guilty plea.  OPINION HOLDS: Major cannot establish good cause to appeal because the DNA sampling he now challenges was mandatory under Iowa Code section 81.2 (2019).

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Celene Gogerty, Judge.  APPEAL DISMISSED.  Considered by Bower, C.J., and Vaitheswaran, and Schumacher, JJ.  Opinion by Vaitheswaran, J.  (3 pages)

            Loran Martin Craig appeals following his guilty pleas to assault with intent to inflict serious injury and prohibited acts.  OPINION HOLDS: We dismiss Craig’s appeal.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Linn County, Kevin McKeever, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Bower, C.J., and Vaitheswaran and Schumacher, JJ.  Opinion by Schumacher, J. (12 pages)

            Nathan Brocks appeals his convictions for first-degree burglary, third-degree kidnapping, domestic abuse assault causing bodily injury, and obstruction of emergency communications.  OPINION HOLDS: We conclude the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying Brocks’s motions for mistrial.  We conclude the court did not abuse its discretion in ruling a defense witness’s proposed testimony that the victim used methamphetamine in the past was not relevant or admissible for impeachment purposes.  Furthermore, Brocks’s claims of ineffective assistance of counsel cannot be raised in this direct appeal.  We affirm his convictions.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Scott County, Mark J. Smith, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Bower, C.J., and Tabor and Ahlers, JJ.  Opinion by Bower, C.J.  (9 pages)

            Wade Cortez Jones appeals the sentences for his convictions for assault on persons in certain occupations, driving while barred, and third-degree mischief. OPINION HOLDS:  We conclude the appeal of his sentence is not barred by Iowa Code section 814.6 (2020), the sentencing court did not consider improper factors, and the State did not breach the plea agreement.  Therefore, we affirm.