September 2021 Archive | Court of Appeals Court Opinions

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Jeffrey Farrell, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Tabor, P.J., Greer, J., and Danilson, S.J.  Opinion by Danilson, S.J.  (9 pages)

            Dantreon Newman appeals following his guilty plea to lascivious acts with a child, claiming his trial counsel was ineffective in failing to request that he be “examined for competency” or use his “mental health state to assert a diminished capacity defense” and the district court “should have ordered a competency hearing.”  OPINION HOLDS: Upon our review, we affirm Newman’s conviction.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Scott County, Henry W. Latham II, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Mullins, P.J., and May and Ahlers, JJ.  Opinion by Mullins, J. (8 pages)

            Marco Carrillo appeals his convictions of two counts of sexual abuse in the second degree.  OPINION HOLDS: We have no authority to consider Carrillo’s ineffective-assistance claims.  The evidence presented at trial was sufficient to convince a rational jury of Carrillo’s guilt.  There is nothing clearly untenable or unreasonable with the district court’s evidentiary determinations leading to the admission of the video interview, and we find no abuse of discretion. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Black Hawk County, Andrea J. Dryer, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Bower, C.J., and Vaitheswaran and Schumacher, JJ.  Opinion by Bower, C.J.  (6 pages)

            Charles David Brown appeals after being found guilty of intimidation with a dangerous weapon, willful injury causing serious injury, possession of a firearm as a felon, and interference with official acts while armed with a firearm, all as a habitual offender.  Brown asserts his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to object to the testimony of a trial witness or, in the alternative, the court’s allowance of that testimony was plain error.  He argues the prohibition of consideration of ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claims on direct appeal violates various state and federal constitutional guarantees.  He also asserts the trial court abused its discretion in denying his motion to reopen the record.  OPINION HOLDS: We do not address the ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claim, plain error is not recognized by Iowa courts, and the trial court’s reasoning in denying the motion to reopen the record was neither untenable nor unreasonable.  We therefore affirm.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Louisa County, Mark Kruse, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Danilson and Doyle, S.J.J.  Opinion by Danilson, S.J.  (6 pages)

            Sean Krier appeals the dismissal of his application for postconviction relief.  OPINION HOLDS: We affirm the dismissal of Krier’s application. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Sarah E. Crane, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Greer and Schumacher, JJ.  Opinion by Greer, J.  (2 pages)

            Bobby Woodberry’s fifth application for postconviction relief challenging his 1995 convictions for first-degree murder and assault with intent to commit serious injury was summarily dismissed by the district court.  Woodberry appeals, claiming the holding of State v. Allison, 914 N.W.2d 866 (Iowa 2018), should save his application from the statutory time-bar.  OPINION HOLDS: We do not apply the holding of Allison to fifth PCR applications.  We affirm.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Warren County, Michael Jacobsen, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Bower, C.J., and Tabor and Ahlers, JJ.  Opinion by Tabor, J.  (3 pages)

            Milton Weir appeals the dismissal of his second application for postconviction relief.  OPINION HOLDS: Weir’s second application for postconviction relief was untimely.  We adopt the district court’s rationale, affirm without further opinion, and deny all pro se motions.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Cerro Gordo County, DeDra Schroeder, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Tabor, P.J., and Greer and Badding, JJ.  Opinion by Badding, J. (3 pages)

            Bryan Holmes appeals his third-degree sexual-abuse convictions, claiming ineffective assistance of trial counsel.  OPINION HOLDS: Because Holmes appealed after the statutory amendment eliminating a defendant’s ability to pursue a claim of ineffective assistance on direct appeal took effect, we are without jurisdiction to consider the appeal.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Jefferson County, Lucy J. Gamon, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Tabor, P.J., and Greer, JJ, and Doyle, S.J.  Opinion by Greer, J. (14 pages)

            Jordan McKim-Crawford appeals his conviction of armed robbery in the first degree and ongoing criminal conduct because of insufficient evidence.  Crawford argues the district court should have sustained their motion for judgment of acquittal because the State failed to prove that (1) he aided and abetted in the armed robbery, (2) he knew a gun would be used in the robbery, or (3) he was part of the ongoing enterprise of taking the stolen money to purchase marijuana for later sale.  OPINION HOLDS: Error was not preserved on armed robbery.  Error was preserved in part as to ongoing criminal conduct regarding the commission of a specified illicit act.  Substantial evidence was provided linking Crawford to the purchase and attempted sale of marijuana.  We affirm the district court’s holding.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Scott County, Henry W. Latham II, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Greer and Schumacher, JJ.  Opinion by Schumacher, J.  (9 pages)

            Walter Miller Jr. appeals his convictions for possession of methamphetamine, third or subsequent offense; failure to affix a drug tax stamp; and assault while displaying a dangerous weapon.  OPINION HOLDS: We find the district court did not abuse its discretion in granting defense counsel’s motion to withdraw on the ground that further representation of Miller would violate the rules of professional conduct.  Also, the court properly granted Miller’s request to waive his right to counsel and represent himself.  We affirm Miller’s convictions.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Washington County, Daniel Kitchen, District Associate Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Tabor, P.J., and Greer and Badding, JJ.  Opinion by Greer, J.  (2 pages)

            A jury convicted Eric Ryan of two counts of indecent contact with a child.  Ryan appeals, arguing only that his trial counsel provided ineffective assistance.  OPINION HOLDS: Because Iowa Code section 814.7 (2020) prevents us from deciding Ryan’s claims of ineffective assistance on direct appeal and he raises no other issues, we affirm. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Webster County, Rustin T. Davenport, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J. and Greer and Schumacher, JJ.  Opinion by Vaitheswaran, P.J.  (5 pages)

            James Arneson appeals the denial of his application for postconviction relief, claiming his trial counsel was ineffective in failing to challenge his consent to provide a DNA sample as involuntary.  OPINION HOLDS: We affirm the district court’s denial and dismissal of Arneson’s postconviction-relief application.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Dickinson County, David C. Larson, District Associate Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Tabor, P.J., Greer, J., and Doyle, S.J.  Opinion by Greer, J. (7 pages)

            Charles Tewes appeals his conviction of child endangerment, challenging the sufficiency of the evidence.  Tewes disputes some of the district court’s factual findings, arguing they are not supported by the evidence.  And he claims the other facts do not meet the legal standard of creating a substantial risk to B.T.’s health or safety.  OPINION HOLDS: Substantial evidence supports Tewes’s conviction, so we affirm.