Filed Mar 29, 2023
View Opinion No. 22-0480
View Summary for Case No. 22-0480
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Dallas County, Michael Jacobsen, Judge. AFFIRMED AS MODIFIED ON APPEAL; AFFIRMED AND REMANDED ON CROSS-APPEAL. Considered by Bower, C.J., and Greer and Buller, JJ. Opinion by Greer, J. (24 pages)
Brent Prenger appeals and Kimberly (Kim) Prenger (now Kiewiet) cross-appeals the decree dissolving their marriage. OPINION HOLDS: We affirm the district court on most issues raised by these parties, but modify the decree to limit the obligation for the private school to only the tuition cost, require Kim to pay the costs of the children’s extracurricular activities, and reduce the property equalization payment to $21,000. Finally, we remand to the district court to determine the appropriate award of reasonable appellate attorney fees for Kim.
Filed Mar 29, 2023
View Opinion No. 22-0490
View Summary for Case No. 22-0490
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Coleman McAllister, Judge. AFFIRMED. Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Greer and Chicchelly, JJ. Opinion by Greer, J. (4 pages)
Matthew Korock challenges the revocation of his probation and deferred judgment and the subsequent imposition of a criminal sentence as unconstitutional and argues we should overturn State v. Criswell, 242 N.W.2d 259, 260 (Iowa 1976). OPINION HOLDS: Because Korock has waived his constitutional challenge and we lack the authority to overturn supreme court precedent, we affirm.
Filed Mar 29, 2023
View Opinion No. 22-0504
View Summary for Case No. 22-0504
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Jasper County, Thomas P. Murphy, Judge. AFFIRMED. Considered by Bower, C.J., and Badding and Buller, JJ. Opinion by Bower, C.J. (5 pages)
Kenneth Petty appeals the dismissal of his civil action for damages against his criminal trial attorney, Drew Kouris, pursuant to Iowa Code section 602.10113 (2021). OPINION HOLDS: Kouris is immune from liablity for damages unless and until the postconviction court determines Petty’s conviction resulted from Kouris’s ineffective assistance. We affirm the court’s order dismissing the action without prejudice.
Filed Mar 29, 2023
View Opinion No. 22-0537
View Summary for Case No. 22-0537
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Dubuque County, John J. Bauercamper, Judge. REVERSED AND REMANDED. Considered by Ahlers, P.J., and Chicchelly and Buller, JJ. Opinion by Ahlers, P.J. (6 pages)
A plaintiff appeals the denial of its motion for new trial, complaining that the omission of an “if/then statement” from a jury instruction misled the jury in a medical malpractice action. OPINION HOLDS: The omission of an “if/then statement” from the jury instruction misled the jury. The faulty instruction directed the jury to conclude the physician employed an approved alternative treatment and was not negligent rather than asking the jury to determine whether there was an approved alternative treatment that the physician used. The instructional error requires reversal and a new trial.
Filed Mar 29, 2023
View Opinion No. 22-0596
View Summary for Case No. 22-0596
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Pottawattamie County, Craig M. Dreismeier, Judge. AFFIRMED. Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Greer and Chicchelly, JJ. Opinion by Chicchelly, J. (5 pages)
Vance Good appeals the denial of his application for postconviction relief concerning his conviction for murder in the first degree. He alleges ineffective assistance of his trial counsel. OPINION HOLDS: Because Good did not establish his counsel failed to perform an essential duty, we affirm the denial.
Filed Mar 29, 2023
View Opinion No. 22-0612
View Summary for Case No. 22-0612
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Lee (South) County, Mark Kruse, Judge. AFFIRMED. Considered by Bower, C.J., and Greer and Badding, JJ. Opinion by Badding, J. (9 pages)
Kenji Meeks appeals his convictions for burglary and theft, claiming there was insufficient evidence to prove the intent required for both convictions. OPINION HOLDS: We affirm, concluding the State provided sufficient evidence to support Meeks’s convictions.
Filed Mar 29, 2023
View Opinion No. 22-0659
View Summary for Case No. 22-0659
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Black Hawk County, David P. Odekirk, Judge. AFFIRMED. Considered by Tabor, P.J., and Schumacher and Ahlers, JJ. Opinion by Ahlers, J. (7 pages)
Ashanti Phillips appeals the sentence imposed following her Alford plea. She contends the district court abused its discretion in not suspending her term of incarceration and believing it had no discretion to suspend the fine associated with her conviction for a serious misdemeanor. OPINION HOLDS: The court did not abuse its discretion when it chose to not suspend Phillips’s term of incarceration, and it had no discretion to suspend the fine associated with her serious misdemeanor conviction.
Filed Mar 29, 2023
View Opinion No. 22-0698
View Summary for Case No. 22-0698
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Webster County, Kurt L. Wilke, Jennifer Miller, and Thomas J. Bice, Judges. AFFIRMED. Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Greer and Chicchelly, JJ. Opinion by Greer, J. (11 pages)
A jury convicted Stoney Gifford of first-degree robbery, intimidation with a dangerous weapon with intent, going armed with intent, and possession of a firearm by a felon. Gifford appeals, claiming (1) the district court abused its discretion in denying his request to reduce his bond prior to trial; (2) he should have been allowed to depose eight members of law enforcement who were not listed as witnesses by the State; (3) the court wrongly denied his fair-cross-section challenge to the jury pool for underrepresentation of Hispanic potential jurors; and (4) prosecutorial misconduct deprived him of his right to a fair trial. OPINION HOLDS: Because Gifford’s challenge to the district court’s denial of his request for bond reduction is moot and he failed to preserve error on his allegations of prosecutorial misconduct, we do not consider either claim. We find no reversible error in the court’s denial of his application to depose eight non-listed witnesses or its denial of his fair-cross-section challenge. We affirm.
Filed Mar 29, 2023
View Opinion No. 22-0728
View Summary for Case No. 22-0728
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Buchanan County, John J. Sullivan, Judge. AFFIRMED. Considered by Tabor, P.J., and Schumacher and Ahlers, JJ. Opinion by Tabor, P.J. (5 pages)
Adam Williams appeals his sentences for six offenses, arguing the court abused its discretion in imposing incarceration rather than probation. OPINION HOLDS: We find the court did not consider any inappropriate factor and there was no abuse of discretion, so we affirm.
Filed Mar 29, 2023
View Opinion No. 22-0734
View Summary for Case No. 22-0734
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Wapello County, Myron Gookin, Judge. REVERSED AND REMANDED. Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Ahlers and Buller, JJ. Opinion by Ahlers, J. (6 pages)
James Williamson appeals from a domestic-abuse protective order prohibiting him from contacting Kristin Easton-Cole. OPINION HOLDS: Easton-Cole did not establish Williamson committed an assault against her—a requirement for issuance of the protective order. We reverse and remand for vacation of the protective order and dismissal of the petition.
Filed Mar 29, 2023
View Opinion No. 22-0753
View Summary for Case No. 22-0753
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Poweshiek County, Shawn R. Showers, Judge. AFFIRMED. Considered by Tabor, P.J., Schumacher, J., and Danilson, S.J. Opinion by Danilson, S.J. (6 pages)
Roy Garner appeals the sentences imposed following his guilty pleas to abuse of a corpse, accessory after the fact, and obstruction of prosecution or defense, contending the district court “abused its discretion by considering impermissible factors.” OPINION HOLDS: Upon our review, we affirm.
Filed Mar 29, 2023
View Opinion No. 22-0814
View Summary for Case No. 22-0814
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Scott County, Tom Reidel, Judge. AFFIRMED. Considered by Badding, P.J., Chicchelly, J., and Mullins, S.J. Opinion by Mullins, S.J. (8 pages)
Thomas Jenkins Sr. appeals the denial of his application for postconviction relief (PCR), arguing the district court erred in denying him relief on his claims of ineffective assistance of criminal trial counsel. OPINION HOLDS: Finding counsel was not ineffective as alleged, we affirm the denial of Jenkins’s PCR application.