2023 Archive | Court of Appeals Court Opinions

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Linn County, Lars Anderson, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Ahlers and Buller, JJ.  Opinion by Buller, J.  (5 pages)

            Laurie Burnside appeals from the district court’s grant of summary judgment to Linn Area Credit Union.  OPINION HOLDS: We affirm the district court’s ruling, finding Burnside failed to create any genuine issue of material fact.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Woodbury County, Patrick H. Tott, Judge.  APPEAL DISMISSED.  Considered by Bower, C.J., Badding, J., and Vogel, S.J.  Opinion by Bower, C.J.  (5 pages)

            Sylvia Eva Castillo appeals her guilty plea for the offense introduction of a controlled substance into a detention facility.  OPINION HOLDS: Castillo has not established good cause to pursue her appeal as a matter of right, and we dismiss the appeal. 

              Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Martha L. Mertz, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Bower, C.J., Ahlers, J., and Carr, S.J.  Opinion by Carr, S.J.  (7 pages)

              Daniel Poole pled guilty to possession of a controlled substance with an intent to deliver under Iowa Code section 124.401(1)(b)(7) (2018).  Poole petitioned for postconviction relief (PCR), alleging ineffective assistance of counsel and plea coercion, but the PCR court rejected his arguments.  Poole appeals.  OPINION HOLDS: We affirm, finding no ineffective assistance of counsel and that Poole’s coerced-plea claim was not preserved.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Johnson County, Kevin McKeever, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., Tabor, J., and Mullins, S.J.  Opinion by Mullins, S.J. (22 pages)

            Carlos Hivento appeals his convictions for third-degree sexual abuse, challenging the sufficiency of the evidence supporting those convictions.  Specifically, he argues the evidence was insufficient to support either of the dual alternative theories that the sex acts were done either: (1) by force or against the will of the other person or (2) while the other person was mentally incapacitated, physically incapacitated, or physically helpless.  In relation to his challenge, he also contests the constitutionality of Iowa Code section 814.28 (Supp. 2019) on general verdicts.  OPINION HOLDS: Finding each alternative is supported by substantial evidence, we affirm the convictions without addressing the constitutional challenge. 

              Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Hardin County, Amy M. Moore, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Greer and Chicchelly, JJ.  Opinion by Greer, J.  (6 pages)

              Olympia Cooks appeals from the district court’s denial of her application for postconviction relief.  OPINION HOLDS: We affirm, as Cooks failed to establish her claim of ineffective assistance because she did not show that any prejudice resulted.

              Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Delaware County, Linda M. Fangman, Judge.  REVERSED AND REMANDED FOR NEW TRIAL.  Heard by Greer, P.J., Chicchelly, J., and Gamble, S.J.  Opinion by Gamble, S.J.  (16 pages)

              Robert Krogmann appeals his convictions for attempted murder and willful injury causing serious injury.  He challenges the sufficiency of the evidence supporting his attempted murder conviction and argues the district court should have admitted a video exhibit of an interrogation that occurred after he shot someone to support his diminished-responsibility defense.  OPINION HOLDS: Substantial evidence supports Krogmann’s attempted-murder conviction.  The district court should not have excluded the video exhibit as hearsay because it was not being offered for the purpose of establishing the truth of the matter asserted in the statements made during the interrogation.  Instead, it was being offered to demonstrate Krogmann’s demeanor and conduct following the shooting.  The video should have been admitted under the best evidence rule because the parties disputed how Krogmann acted during the interrogation.  So we reverse and remand for new trial.

              Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Scott County, Mark R. Lawson, Judge. REVERSED AND REMANDED.  Considered by Badding, P.J., Chicchelly, J., and Gamble, S.J.  Opinion by Gamble, S.J.  (5 pages)

              Michael Davis appeals the summary dismissal of his sixth application for postconviction relief.  OPINION HOLDS: There is a question of material fact as to whether the ground-of-fact exception applies to bypass the statute of limitations found in Iowa Code section 822.3 (2019).  So we reverse and remand for further proceedings.

              Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Cerro Gordo County, Karen Kaufman Salic, District Associate Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Tabor, P.J., and Schumacher and Chicchelly, JJ.  Opinion by Tabor, P.J.  (10 pages)

              A defendant appeals the district court’s denial of his motion to suppress evidence arising from a traffic stop.  OPINION HOLDS: We assume without deciding that the officer made a mistake of fact in stopping the defendant.  But because this mistake was objectively reasonable, we affirm.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Johnson County, Chad Kepros, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Heard by Bower, C.J., and Badding and Ahlers, JJ.  Opinion by Badding, J.  (22 pages)

            Jorge Maldonado appeals his convictions on four counts of first-degree sexual abuse and one count of second-degree sexual abuse.  He argues (1) the district court erred in admitting a forensic interview of one of the children under the residual exception to the rule against hearsay, and (2) there was insufficient evidence that he performed a sex act with the children or that the oldest child’s post-traumatic stress disorder is a serious injury.  OPINION HOLDS: We affirm Maldonado’s convictions, finding the forensic interview was properly admitted under the residual exception and Maldonado’s convictions enjoy substantial evidentiary support.

              Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Bremer County, Peter B. Newell, District Associate Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., Tabor, J., and Scott, S.J.  Opinion by Scott, S.J.  Dissent by Tabor, J.  (12 pages)

              Jeffrey Leroy Larson appeals the denial of his motion to suppress, asserting the trooper unlawfully prolonged the traffic stop and his consent was not voluntary.  OPINION HOLDS: We agree with the district court, the stop was not unlawfully extended and Larson’s consent was given voluntarily.  There was no error in denying the motion to suppress.  DISSENT ASSERTS: I respectfully dissent.  The State failed to show that Larson voluntarily consented to the search of his car, so I would reverse the denial of his motion to suppress. 

              Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Jeffrey Farrell, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Bower, C.J., and Greer and Badding, JJ.  Opinion by Greer, J.  (5 pages)

              Donald Smith appeals the denial of his application for postconviction DNA testing.  OPINION HOLDS: Because Smith cannot show how DNA evidence would have changed the outcome of his trial, we affirm.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Linn County, Mary E. Chicchelly, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Ahlers and Buller, JJ.  Opinion by Vaitheswaran, P.J.  Chicchelly, J., takes no part.  (5 pages)

            Heather Whitman appeals from a district court ruling on her petition for declaratory judgment seeking to establish a common law marriage to Douglas Archibald.  OPINION HOLDS: On our de novo review, we agree with the district court that Whitman and Archibald did not have a common law marriage.  Accordingly, the district court acted equitably in denying Whitman’s motion for summary judgment.