October 2024 Archive | Court of Appeals Court Opinions

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Harrison County, Margaret Reyes, Judge.  AFFIRMED IN PART, REVERSED IN PART, AND REMANDED.  Considered by Greer, P.J., and Ahlers and Badding, JJ.  Opinion by Badding, J. (16 pages)

            A defendant appeals from his convictions for sexual exploitation by a school employee, lascivious conduct with a minor, and indecent contact with a child.  He claims (1) the sexual exploitation convictions involving the victims in counts five, nine, and sixteen “were not supported by evidence of inappropriate touching”; (2) none of the convictions for lascivious conduct with a minor were supported by proof that the victims were never married; (3) the age element was not established for the indecent contact conviction in count three; and (4) the district court abused its discretion by not allowing Work to cross-examine a victim “with specific instances of conduct relating to her character for truthfulness.”  OPINION HOLDS: On our review of Work’s claims, we conclude (1) the evidence was sufficient to convince a rational trier of fact that Work was guilty of sexual exploitation in the challenged counts; (2) the statute criminalizing lascivious conduct with a minor does not require proof of the minor’s marital status; (3) the State concedes the victim for the indecent contact conviction in count three was not a “child,” and we agree; and (4) the claimed evidentiary error is harmless as the defendant still elicited testimony about the witness’s character for truthfulness. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Jasper County, William A. Price, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Tabor, C.J., and Chicchelly and Sandy, JJ.  Opinion by Chicchelly, J.  (7 pages)

            Samuel Gurisho Kabo appeals his conviction after a jury found him guilty of eluding.  OPINION HOLDS: Because the court did not err in its jury instructions ruling and substantial evidence supports Kabo’s conviction, we affirm.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Scott County, Tamra Roberts, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Tabor, C.J., and Chicchelly and Sandy, JJ.  Opinion by Sandy, J. (9 pages)

            A defendant appeals his conviction for domestic abuse assault, arguing the evidence was insufficient to establish he and his victim were “family or household members,” which was defined to the jury as “persons cohabiting with each other.”  OPINION HOLDS: Because we find substantial evidence supports the jury’s finding of cohabitation, we affirm the defendant’s conviction.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Webster County, Kurt J. Stoebe, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Schumacher, P.J., and Buller and Langholz, JJ.  Opinion by Schumacher, P.J.  (12 pages)

            Lori Painter appeals the district court’s order denying her motion to intervene and motion for appointment as co-administrator of the Estate of Jeffery Nagel.  Painter challenges the court’s finding she had failed to prove she was Nagel’s common-law wife.  OPINION HOLDS: Upon our review, we affirm.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, David Porter, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Tabor, C.J., and Chicchelly and Sandy, JJ.  Opinion by Sandy, J.  (8 pages)

            A father appeals the district court’s order granting the mother physical care of their child.  OPINION HOLDS: Upon our de novo review, we affirm the district court’s order awarding the mother physical care. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Clay County, Andrew Smith, Judge.  APPEAL DISMISSED IN PART AND AFFIRMED IN PART.  Considered by Schumacher, P.J., and Buller and Langholz, JJ.  Opinion by Langholz, J. (7 pages)

            Garret Wassom directly appeals three misdemeanor convictions, challenging whether five exhibits were improperly excluded from trial.  OPINION HOLDS: Wassom has no right to directly appeal his two simple misdemeanor convictions.  And even treating his filings here as an application for discretionary review, Wassom received substantial justice, so we deny discretionary review and dismiss his appeals from the simple assault convictions for lack of jurisdiction.  Wassom failed to preserve error on his constitutional evidentiary arguments challenging the third conviction.  And the district court did not abuse its discretion when excluding the exhibits as irrelevant—that the victim may have briefly interacted with Wassom two, five, or eight months after the event does not make any material fact relating to false imprisonment more or less probable. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Webster County, Adria Kester, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Tabor, C.J., and Greer and Schumacher, JJ.  Opinion by Tabor, C.J.  (6 pages)

            After pleading guilty to two drug charges and a related weapons charge, Jacob Cullum appeals the denial of his application for postconviction relief (PCR).  He claims his counsel was ineffective for not moving to suppress evidence found during a warrantless search of his car.  OPINION HOLDS: Because the search was justified under the automobile exception to the warrant requirement, counsel had no duty to file a meritless motion.  Thus, we affirm the PCR ruling.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Johnson County, Jason A. Burns, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Greer, P.J., and Ahlers and Badding, JJ.  Opinion by Ahlers, J. (4 pages)

            Alfred Younes appeals his sentence following his guilty plea, claiming the district court abused its discretion by only considering one sentencing factor, community deterrence, when reaching its sentencing decision.  OPINION HOLDS: The district court considered several permissible sentencing factors when reaching its sentencing decision.  In doing so, the district court did not abuse its discretion.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Howard County, Laura Parrish, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Heard by Schumacher, P.J., Chicchelly, J., and Vogel, S.J.  Opinion by Schumacher, P.J.  (20 pages)

            Children and grandchildren of Godfrey Natvig appeal the dismissal of their action contesting Godfrey’s will.  They challenge “gifts” Michael Natvig made to himself while acting as Godfrey’s attorney in fact; request an inter vivos transfer of eighty acres of farmland to Michael be set aside due to the confidential relationship between Godfrey and Michael, claiming the deed was executed under fraud, duress, and undue influence; and argue the 2016 codicil to Godfrey’s will “was procured by undue influence” and during a time Godfrey “was suffering from an insane delusion.”  OPINION HOLDS: Upon our review, we affirm.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Scott County, Henry W. Latham II, Judge.  REVERSED AND REMANDED WITH DIRECTIONS.  Considered by Schumacher, P.J., and Buller and Langholz, JJ.  Opinion by Langholz, J.  Partial Dissent by Buller, J.  (11 pages)

            The City of Davenport, its mayor, and its city council appeal an order sustaining a writ of certiorari declaring that the city council acted illegally by removing Derek Cornette from his office as a city alderman in a proceeding under Iowa Code section 66.29 (2023) and issuing an injunction reinstating Cornette to his office.  OPINION HOLDS: Because Cornette’s term in office ended while this appeal was pending—and he was not reelected to another term—this certiorari proceeding seeking reinstatement to that office is moot.  So we reverse the district court’s ruling sustaining the writ of certiorari and reinstating Cornette and remand to the district court with directions to dismiss this case with prejudice.  DISSENT IN PART ASSERTS: Because I would find the appeal moot but not reverse the district court ruling, I dissent in part.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Jeffrey D. Farrell, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Tabor, C.J., and Chicchelly and Sandy, JJ.  Opinion by Chicchelly, J.  (4 pages)

            A defendant appeals the district court’s determination that she has the reasonable ability to pay category “B” restitution.  OPINION HOLDS: Because the court did not err in making that determination, we affirm.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Pottawattamie County, Michael Hooper, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Heard by Schumacher, P.J., and Badding and Chicchelly, JJ.  Opinion by Badding, P.J.  (20 pages)

            Property owners Michael and Diane McKee appeal a district court decision denying them relief in a dispute with the City of Council Bluffs over surface water drainage.  OPINION HOLDS: On our de novo review of the record, we agree with the district court that although the City’s property is the dominant estate, the City was not responsible for the damage the McKees claim their property has suffered from the surface water drainage.  We accordingly affirm the court’s dismissal of the McKees’ claims for declaratory or mandamus relief, private nuisance, and pure nuisance.