2023 Archive | Court of Appeals Court Opinions

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Clay County, Nancy L. Whittenburg, Judge.  CONVICTION AFFIRMED; WRIT ANNULLED.  Considered by Bower, C.J., and Greer and Badding, JJ.  Opinion by Greer, J.  (15 pages)

            Nathan Tesch appeals his conviction for third-degree burglary and the category “B” restitution the district court ordered him to pay.  He challenges the sufficiency of the evidence supporting his conviction, argues the State committed a Brady violation that entitles him to a new trial, and claims the district court abused its discretion when it determined his reasonable ability to pay category “B” restitution.  OPINION HOLDS: Because substantial evidence supports Tesch’s conviction and the State did not commit a Brady violation, we affirm Tesch’s conviction.  We conclude Tesch does not have the right of appeal from the court’s January 31, 2022 restitution order, but we treat his appeal as a petition for writ of certiorari and grant the petition.  After reviewing the merits of his restitution claim, we cannot find the district court abused its discretion, so we annul the writ.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Fayette County, Laura Parrish, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Tabor, P.J., and Schumacher and Chicchelly, JJ.  Opinion by Tabor, P.J.  (7 pages)

            Justin Sulzer appeals the district court’s denial of his application to hold his former spouse, Terri, in contempt for violating the dissolution decree.  OPINION HOLDS: We find no abuse of discretion in the court’s decision and affirm. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Scott County, John Telleen, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Tabor, P.J., and Schumacher and Chicchelly, JJ.  Opinion by Tabor, P.J.  (11 pages)

            Darrien Irving appeals his convictions for drug-related offenses and possession of a firearm by prohibited person.  He claims the State offered insufficient evidence for his drug-related convictions.  And he contends the district court should have ordered a competency hearing for him.  OPINION HOLDS: Because the State offered substantial evidence of Irving’s possession and intent to deliver and Irving displayed no indicia of incompetency, we affirm.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Samantha Gronewald, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Ahlers, P.J., and Badding and Chicchelly, JJ.  Opinion by Badding, J.  (5 pages)

            Mindy Campfield appeals a district court ruling granting summary judgment to her former employer on her breach-of-contract claim.  OPINION HOLDS: We affirm the entry of summary judgment, concluding Campfield did not suffer damages from the claimed defective notice of early termination. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Poweshiek County, Shawn R. Showers, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Heard by Greer, P.J., Chicchelly, J., and Danilson, S.J.  Opinion by Danilson, S.J. (11 pages)

            Steven Vogel appeals his convictions for murder in the first degree and abuse of a corpse, challenging the sufficiency of the evidence to support the jury’s findings of guilt on both counts.  OPINION HOLDS: We affirm Vogel’s judgment and sentence for murder in the first degree and abuse of a corpse.   

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Louisa County, Wyatt Peterson, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Heard by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Schumacher and Ahlers, JJ.  Opinion by Ahlers, J.  (9 pages)

            Fantasia Jacobs and her children appeal following the district court’s directed verdict in favor of the defendant in this action alleging gross negligence by Jacobs’s co-employee.  OPINION HOLDS: The plaintiffs failed to establish as a matter of law that the co-employee had knowledge that injury was a probable, as opposed to a possible, result of a workplace danger or that the co-employee consciously failed to avoid the danger.  The district court was correct to grant directed verdict.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Woodbury County, Jeffrey A. Neary, Judge.  APPEAL DISMISSED AND REMANDED WITH INSTRUCTIONS.  Considered by Bower, C.J., and Greer and Badding, JJ.  Opinion by Greer, J.  (4 pages)

            Aaron Clark appeals the property distribution and spousal support found in his marriage dissolution decree from Rochelle Clark.  OPINION HOLDS: Because Aaron filed his notice of appeal while Rochelle had a pending Iowa Rule of Civil Procedure 1.904 motion before the court, we treat this notice of appeal as an application for interlocutory appeal.  Because our review is best served by a resolution to the rule 1.904 motion, we dismiss the appeal and remand to the district court to rule on the motion. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Chickasaw County, Margaret L. Lingreen, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Heard by Bower, C.J., Schumacher, J., and Danilson, S.J.  Opinion by Bower, C.J.  (16 pages)

            Petitioners appeal the district court’s ruling on judicial review upholding the Public Employment Relations Board’s (PERB) decision on their petition for bargaining unit clarification.  Petitioners claim that the plain language of the unit encompasses law research assistants who serve law professors, entitling them to inclusion in the bargaining unit.  OPINION HOLDS: Because the Petitioners have failed to show PERB’s decision is inconsistent with the agency’s prior practice or precedents and is not unreasonable, arbitrary, capricious, or an abuse of discretion, we affirm the district court’s ruling upholding PERB’s decision. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Jackson County, Stuart P. Werling, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Bower, C.J., and Greer and Badding, JJ.  Opinion by Badding, J.  (9 pages)

            Desmond Reeves appeals the denial of his application for postconviction relief, contending the district court erred in rejecting his ineffective-assistance claims because counsel (1) was distracted by his own pending criminal charges and (2) failed to request “a jury instruction clarifying who the person was taking photos of the jury.”  OPINION HOLDS: We affirm the district court’s denial of Reeves’s application for postconviction relief, finding Reeves failed to meet his burden to prove ineffective assistance.    

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Dubuque County, Monica Zrinyi Ackley, Judge.  SENTENCES VACATED AND REMANDED FOR RESENTENCING.  Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., Ahlers, J., and Gamble, S.J.*  Opinion by Ahlers, J. (5 pages)

            Peter Triervieler appeals from his sentences following his guilty pleas to child endangerment, domestic abuse assault, and operating while intoxicated.  OPINION HOLDS: The district court incorrectly believed it could not suspend the sentences for Triervieler’s two felony convictions, so we conclude the court abused its discretion at sentencing and remand for resentencing before a different judge.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Linn County, Ian K. Thornhill, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Bower, C.J., and Greer and Badding, JJ.  Opinion by Greer, J.  (15 pages)

            Tracie Turner appeals the jury verdict finding her 98% liable in her premises liability action.  She challenges pre-trial evidence issues, the district court’s exclusion of impeachment evidence, and the district court’s rejection of jury instructions for evidence spoliation and negligence per se.  OPINION HOLDS: Because we find no abuse in the district court’s discretion on preserved challenges to pre-trial evidence matters, that Turner suffered no prejudice from the exclusion of impeachment evidence, and no legal error in the rejection of the spoliation and negligence per se instructions, we affirm. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Samantha Gronewald, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Heard by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Schumacher and Ahlers, JJ.  Opinion by Schumacher, J.  (13 pages)

            Derek Krogman appeals the district court’s decision affirming the ruling of the Iowa Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) that there was just cause to terminate Krogman’s employment with the State.  OPINION HOLDS: The district court applied the correct standard of review.  Giving appropriate deference to PERB’s application of the law to the facts, we determine PERB did not act irrationally, illogically, or wholly unjustifiably in finding that the State provided just cause for discharging Krogman.  PERB’s actions were not inconsistent with its prior practices and precedents.  We affirm the decisions of the district court and PERB.