Filed Apr 14, 2021
View Opinion No. 19-1981
View Summary for Case No. 19-1981
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Muscatine County, Patrick A. McElyea, Judge. AFFIRMED. Heard by Bower, C.J., and Doyle and Mullins, JJ. Opinion by Doyle, J. (16 pages)
Annette Cahill appeals the judgment and sentence entered after a jury found her guilty of second-degree murder. She challenges the court’s rulings on the State’s failure to disclose evidence and the court’s refusal to exclude the testimony of three witnesses at trial. Cahill also challenges the sufficiency of the evidence to support the jury’s verdict and contends her constitutional rights were violated by the twenty-six-year delay between the crime and her arrest. OPINION HOLDS: The district court did not err in its denial of Cahill’s post-trial motion to compel DNA testing. Cahill did not establish a Brady violation by the State regarding a laboratory report provided mid-trial. The district court did not err in denying Cahill’s Iowa Rule of Evidence 5.104 motions to exclude prosecution witnesses’ testimony. The district court did not err in denying Cahill’s motion for new trial since sufficient evidence supported the jury’s verdict. Cahill’s due process rights were not violated by the pre-accusation delay in prosecution.
Filed Apr 14, 2021
View Opinion No. 19-1983
View Summary for Case No. 19-1983
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Robert B. Hanson, Judge. AFFIRMED. Heard by May, P.J., and Greer and Schumacher, JJ. Opinion by Greer, J. (23 pages)
Robyn Mengwasser appeals the denial of her motion for a partial new trial. This appeal follows a jury trial on her personal injury claim against appellees, Joseph Comito and Capital City Fruit Company. Supporting her request for a new trial on damages only, Mengwasser presents five claims of error; (1) limiting the testimony of Dr. Randy Dierenfield; (2) refusing to submit an eggshell plaintiff instruction to the jury; (3) refusing to grant a partial new trial on the basis the jury verdict was logically inconsistent; (4) granting Comito’s second motion in limine, excluding evidence of medical treatment Mengwasser received shortly before trial; and finally, (5) granting in part Comito’s post-trial application for taxation of costs under Iowa Code Chapter 677 (2019). OPINION HOLDS: We affirm the district court’s denial of Mengwasser’s motion for a partial new trial.
Filed Apr 14, 2021
View Opinion No. 19-1990
View Summary for Case No. 19-1990
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Lee (South) County, Michael J. Schilling, Judge. AFFIRMED. Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Tabor and Schumacher, JJ. Opinion by Schumacher, J. (23 pages)
Skylar Stark appeals his conviction for the crimes of burglary in the first degree and robbery in the first degree arguing the district court erred in denying his motion to sever a felon in possession of a firearm charge and admitting certain evidence over his relevancy and unfair prejudice objections. OPINION HOLDS: The district court did not abuse its discretion in finding the State’s interest in judicial economy outweighed the risk of unfair prejudice from joinder and we find no abuse of discretion regarding the four challenged exhibits. We also conclude that any error in the admission of the exhibits was harmless and does not warrant a reversal.
Filed Apr 14, 2021
View Opinion No. 19-2093
View Summary for Case No. 19-2093
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Dubuque County, Michael J. Shubatt, Judge. REVERSED AND REMANDED FOR NEW TRIAL. Considered by Bower, C.J., Vaitheswaran, J., and Potterfield, S.J. Opinion by Potterfield, S.J. (8 pages)
Bryan Halfhill was convicted of second-degree sexual abuse, lascivious acts with a child, and lascivious acts with a child by way of soliciting a person to commit a sex act with a child. On appeal, Halfhill contends (1) the prosecutor engaged in misconduct, which should result in Halfhill receiving a new trial; (2) because of lack of corroborating evidence for his alleged accomplice’s testimony, the State failed to present substantial evidence to support any of Halfhill’s three convictions; and (3) the district court wrongly admitted testimony that constituted backdoor hearsay. OPINION HOLDS: We agree with Halfhill that “backdoor hearsay” was admitted at this trial. The district court failed to recognize the issue when Halfhill objected, so no curative actions were taken. Under the circumstances of this case, the State cannot prove the error was not prejudicial to Halfhill, so we reverse and remand for a new trial. As this issue is dispositive, we do not consider Halfhill’s other claims.
Filed Apr 14, 2021
View Opinion No. 19-2126
View Summary for Case No. 19-2126
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Lee County (North), Wyatt Peterson and John M. Wright, Judges. AFFIRMED. Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Tabor and Ahlers, JJ. Opinion by Vaitheswaran, P.J. (4 pages)
Adam Smith appeals following his guilty plea to third-degree burglary, challenging his guilty plea, sentence, and the efficacy of trial counsel. OPINION HOLDS: We affirm Smith’s conviction, judgment, and sentence for third-degree burglary.
Filed Apr 14, 2021
View Opinion No. 19-2128
View Summary for Case No. 19-2128
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Des Moines County, John M. Wright, Judge. CONVICTION REVERSED AND REMANDED FOR RESENTENCING. Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Tabor and Ahlers, JJ. Opinion by Tabor, J. (11 pages)
Andrew Jaquez appeals his conviction for possession of a controlled substance, third offense after a bench trial on the minutes of evidence. OPINION HOLDS: Because the minutes do not show that Jaquez knew about the drugs in the car or had dominion and control over them, the State did not meet its burden of proof. Having found insufficient evidence of possession, we reverse the drug conviction and remand for dismissal on that charge, as well as resentencing on the unchallenged convictions.
Filed Apr 14, 2021
View Opinion No. 20-0016
View Summary for Case No. 20-0016
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Robert B. Hanson, Judge. AFFIRMED. Considered by Bower, C.J., and Doyle and Mullins, JJ. Opinion by Bower, C.J. (8 pages)
Heather Housley appeals the decision of the Iowa Workers’ Compensation Commissioner denying her claim for benefits from the Second Injury Fund of Iowa. OPINION HOLDS: Discerning no error of law, we affirm.
Filed Apr 14, 2021
View Opinion No. 20-0070
View Summary for Case No. 20-0070
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, David Porter, Judge. AFFIRMED. Heard by Bower, C.J., and Doyle and Mullins, JJ. Opinion by Doyle, J. (10 pages)
Contending settlement of Ed Albaugh’s petition for partial commutation of workers’ compensation benefits had been reached before he died, the Estate of Ed Albaugh applied to the district court to enforce the settlement. The Estate and UPS Freight filed dueling motions for summary judgment. The district court found “that the parties engaged in settlement negotiations that did not result in an agreement on its final terms.” So the court found there was no agreement for the court to enforce. OPINION HOLDS: We cannot find that the parties ever mutually assented to the same settlement agreement. We therefore affirm the district court’s ruling on the parties’ motions for summary judgment.
Filed Apr 14, 2021
View Opinion No. 20-0124
View Summary for Case No. 20-0124
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Carroll County, Joseph McCarville, District Associate Judge. CONVICTION AFFIRMED; SENTENCE AFFIRMED IN PART, VACATED IN PART, AND REMANDED. Considered by Bower, C.J., and Doyle and Mullins, JJ. Opinion by Mullins, J. (7 pages)
Jameesha Allen appeals her conviction, following a guilty plea, of operating while under the influence and the sentence imposed. OPINION HOLDS: We affirm Allen’s conviction absent a showing of good cause to appeal but vacate the portion of her sentence requiring second category restitution and remand the matter for completion of a final restitution order and assessment of Allen’s ability to pay.
Filed Apr 14, 2021
View Opinion No. 20-0144
View Summary for Case No. 20-0144
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Floyd County, Christopher C. Foy, Judge. CONVICTIONS AFFIRMED, SENTENCE VACATED IN PART, AND REMANDED FOR ENTRY OF A CORRECTED SENTENCING ORDER. Considered by Doyle, P.J., and Tabor and Ahlers, JJ. Opinion by Doyle, P.J. (12 pages)
A jury found James Boehmer guilty of indecent contact with a child and lascivious conduct with a minor. The district court sentenced Boehmer to two years in prison, and one year in jail to run consecutive to the prison sentence. On appeal, Boehmer claims the district court erred in admitting evidence of law enforcement attempts to contact him through his lawyer for an interview before deciding to file charges. Boehmer also contends the court erred in sentencing him to one year in jail to be served consecutively with his prison sentence. OPINION HOLDS: We conclude it was not error to admit evidence of pre-charging law enforcement efforts to contact Boehmer, and even if it was error, it was harmless. It was error to impose a consecutive prison-jail sentence. We affirm Boehmer’s convictions but remand for an order correcting Boehmer’s sentence.
Filed Apr 14, 2021
View Opinion No. 20-0155
View Summary for Case No. 20-0155
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, David Nelmark, Judge. AFFIRMED. Considered by Bower, C.J., and Doyle and Mullins, JJ. Opinion by Bower, C.J. (9 pages)
Annett Holdings, Inc., doing business as TMC Transportation (TMC), appeals the district court ruling upholding a review-reopening decision by Iowa Workers’ Compensation Commissioner. TMC asserts the commissioner erred in granting Nicholas Roberts additional healing-period benefits and in finding a thirty percent industrial disability. OPINION HOLDS: We affirm the district court’s ruling, which upheld the commissioner’s award of healing-period benefits and industrial disability.
Filed Apr 14, 2021
View Opinion No. 20-0180
View Summary for Case No. 20-0180
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Jeffrey D. Farrell, Judge. AFFIRMED. Considered by Mullins, P.J., Greer, J., and Mahan, S.J. Opinion by Mahan, S.J. (7 pages)
Larontez Buchanan appeals his convictions following a jury trial for murder in the first degree and robbery in the first degree, challenging the district court’s denial of his motion for new trial on the grounds that the jury’s verdicts were contrary to the weight of the evidence and the jury panel was not representative of the racial composition of the community. OPINION HOLDS: We affirm.