Filed Mar 29, 2023
View Opinion No. 23-0078
View Summary for Case No. 23-0078
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Susan Cox, District Associate Judge. AFFIRMED. Considered by Tabor, P.J., and Schumacher and Ahlers, JJ. Opinion by Ahlers, J. (3 pages)
A mother appeals the termination of her parental rights. She claims the State failed to make active efforts toward reunification as required by the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA). OPINION HOLDS: Because neither the children nor the parents were members of an Indian Tribe, the children do not meet the definition of an “Indian child” to trigger ICWA and its active-efforts requirement.
Filed Mar 29, 2023
View Opinion No. 23-0092
View Summary for Case No. 23-0092
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Linn County, Cynthia S. Finley, District Associate Judge. AFFIRMED. Considered by Bower, C.J., and Badding and Buller, JJ. Opinion by Badding, J. (10 pages)
A mother appeals the termination of her parental rights. OPINION HOLDS: We affirm, concluding the child could not be returned to the mother at the time of the termination hearing because of her continued substance abuse, termination was in the best interests of the child, and the juvenile court did not err in refusing the mother additional time to reunify.
Filed Mar 29, 2023
View Opinion No. 23-0097
View Summary for Case No. 23-0097
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Jasper County, Steven J. Holwerda, District Associate Judge. AFFIRMED. Considered by Bower, C.J., and Badding and Buller, JJ. Opinion by Buller, J. (11 pages)
The mother appeals the termination of her parental rights, arguing the State did not meet its burden to prove the statutory elements, termination is not in the child’s best interests, and a permissive exception should preclude termination. OPINION HOLDS: We reject the mother’s arguments and affirm termination.
Filed Mar 29, 2023
View Opinion No. 23-0105
View Summary for Case No. 23-0105
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Pottawattamie County, Scott Strait, District Associate Judge. AFFIRMED. Considered by Tabor, P.J., and Schumacher and Ahlers, JJ. Opinion by Ahlers, J. (6 pages)
A mother appeals the termination of her parental rights. OPINION HOLDS: The mother waived her reasonable-efforts challenge. The State established statutory grounds for termination, which is in the child’s best interests.
Filed Mar 08, 2023
View Opinion No. 21-0443
View Summary for Case No. 21-0443
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.
Filed Mar 08, 2023
View Opinion No. 21-1215
View Summary for Case No. 21-1215
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.
Filed Mar 08, 2023
View Opinion No. 21-1232
View Summary for Case No. 21-1232
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.
Filed Mar 08, 2023
View Opinion No. 21-1445
View Summary for Case No. 21-1445
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.
Filed Mar 08, 2023
View Opinion No. 21-1610
View Summary for Case No. 21-1610
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.
Filed Mar 08, 2023
View Opinion No. 21-1617
View Summary for Case No. 21-1617
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.
Filed Mar 08, 2023
View Opinion No. 21-1662
View Summary for Case No. 21-1662
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.
Filed Mar 08, 2023
View Opinion No. 21-1775
View Summary for Case No. 21-1775
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.