July 2024 Archive | Court of Appeals Court Opinions

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Heather Lauber, Judge.  APPEAL DISMISSED.  Considered by Ahlers, P.J., and Chicchelly and Buller, JJ.  Opinion by Ahlers, P.J.  (3 pages)

            Timothy Spencer attempts to appeal his convictions for robbery in the second degree and theft in the first degree from an older individual.  OPINION HOLDS: Because Spencer does not have good cause to appeal, we dismiss the appeal.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Worth County, Rustin Davenport, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Greer, P.J., Chicchelly, J., and Blane, S.J.  Opinion by Blane, S.J. (14 pages)

            Trapp Trotter appeals the district court ruling rejecting his fair-cross-section challenge to the jury that convicted him of attempted murder and criminal trespass.  He contends the district court erred in finding he failed to satisfy his burden to prove there was systematic exclusion of a distinctive group from the jury pool.  OPINION HOLDS: On our review, we find Trotter failed to produce evidence of systematic exclusion.  So we affirm.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Paul D. Scott, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Tabor, P.J., and Greer and Schumacher, JJ.  Opinion by Tabor, P.J. (5 pages)

            A defendant challenges his sentence for willful injury causing bodily injury, arguing the court abused its discretion in ignoring his mental health and substance use.  OPINION HOLDS: Because the court considered all the pertinent information and sentencing factors, we observe no abuse of discretion and affirm. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Hardin County, Jennifer Miller, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Tabor, P.J., and Greer and Schumacher, JJ.  Opinion by Greer, J. (13 pages)

            Osborn Gavel challenges his conviction for first-degree murder.  OPINION HOLDS: Because the State presented substantial evidence that Gavel acted willfully, deliberately, premeditatedly and with a specific intent to kill the victim when he struck him four times with a crowbar and the district court did not err in interpreting our rules of criminal procedure to not require ordering deposition of an rebuttal expert witness nor abuse its discretion in denying Gavel’s motion to compel, we affirm Gavel’s conviction.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Scott County, Joel W. Barrows, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Tabor, P.J., and Greer and Schumacher, JJ.  Opinion by Schumacher, J. (8 pages)

            Deronta Jamison Jr. appeals his sentence following his guilty plea to second-degree robbery.  OPINION HOLDS: We conclude Jamison was not entitled to an individualized hearing to consider the factors associated with juvenile offenders because no minimum sentence was imposed.  The court did not abuse its discretion in sentencing him to a term of imprisonment.  We affirm Jamison’s sentence.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Marshall County, John J. Haney, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Heard by Schumacher, P.J., and Badding and Langholz, JJ.  Opinion by Schumacher, P.J.  (9 pages)

            A party challenges the district court’s determination that both a petition in probate and a claim in probate could not proceed and that the party failed to meet the burden necessary for promissory estoppel.  The party also challenges the district court’s denial of the request to dismiss a claim about a right of first refusal and the court’s determination that the petition in probate failed to correctly name the defendants.  OPINION HOLDS: We determine the claim in probate and petition in probate are mutually exclusive under Iowa Code section 633.415(2) (2022) and there was a failure to present strict proof of promissory estoppel.  Given this determination, we do not address the other issues on appeal.  Accordingly, we affirm.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Linn County, Angie Johnston, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Badding, P.J., Langholz, J., and Bower, S.J.  Opinion by Langholz, J.  (13 pages)

            Paternal grandparents and the children for whom they were appointed guardians appeal the termination of the voluntary guardianship after the mother withdrew her consent.  OPINION HOLDS: On our de novo review, giving weight to the court’s thoughtful and well-supported factual findings, we agree that the guardians and children failed to meet their burden to prove by clear and convincing evidence that terminating the guardianship would cause the children physical harm or significant, long-term emotional harm sufficient to carry their burden under the rigorous harm standard.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Dubuque County, Mark T. Hostager and Robert J. Richter, Judges.  AFFIRMED AND REMANDED.  Considered by Tabor, P.J., and Greer and Schumacher, JJ.  Opinion by Greer, J.  (8 pages)

            Paul Kramer challenges his conviction and sentence for driving while barred.  Kramer maintains (1) the district court should have sua sponte ordered a competency hearing; (2) the district court should not have allowed him to represent himself in the criminal proceedings; and (3) he should be resentenced because the district court relied on counterfactual reasons, like a guilty plea and the plea agreement, when giving the basis for the sentence imposed.  OPINION HOLDS: Because we find no legal error in allowing the trial to proceed without having a competency hearing or requiring a competency evaluation, nothing Kramer points to on appeal convinces us his waiver of his right to counsel was not knowing and voluntary, and there were no mistakes or issues with the sentencing hearing and the oral pronouncement of sentence, we affirm.  However, we remand for entry of a nunc pro tunc order to correct the clerical mistakes in the written sentencing order.  

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, David Porter, Judge.  AFFIRMED IN PART, REVERSED IN PART, AND REMANDED FOR RECALCULATION OF CHILD SUPPORT.  Considered by Schumacher, P.J., and Ahlers and Langholz, JJ.  Opinion by Ahlers, J.  (6 pages)

            A mother appeals the district court’s order modifying the father’s child support obligation, arguing the court ignored pertinent facts and that the court should have made the support obligation retroactive.  OPINION HOLDS: Because the district court failed to properly account for various deductions in its child support calculation, we reverse and remand for recalculation of child support.  But we affirm that part of the court’s ruling, establishing a start date for the modified child support payments.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Buchanan County, John J. Sullivan, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Heard by Greer, P.J., and Ahlers, Badding, Chicchelly, and Langholz, JJ.  Opinion by Badding, J.  (13 pages)

            Dana Vietor, a former registered representative with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, appeals the denial of his motion to vacate an arbitration award against him for just over $5.7 million on claims brought by ex-clients.  On appeal, Vietor claims the award should have been vacated under the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) because (1) the arbitration panel refused to postpone the final hearing after Vietor’s lead trial counsel withdrew; (2) one of the arbitrators failed to disclose a conflict of interest; and (3) the panel’s decision on attorney fees, breach of contract, and the arbitration eligibility of several claims were in manifest disregard of the law.  The claimants request an award of appellate attorney fees as a sanction pursuant to Iowa Rule of Civil Procedure 1.413(1).  OPINION HOLDS: We affirm the district court’s denial of Vietor’s motion to vacate the arbitration award, finding that (1) Vietor’s arguments on the panel’s decision on attorney fees, breach of contract, and the arbitration eligibility of several claims do not assert any grounds under section 10 of the FAA for vacatur; (2) the panel was not guilty of misconduct by declining to postpone the final hearing further; and (3) Vietor did not meet his heavy burden to show a conflict of interest concerning one of the arbitrators.  Lastly, we deny the claimants’ request for appellate attorney fees as a sanction against Vietor. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Mills County, Michael Hooper, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Ahlers, P.J., and Chicchelly and Buller, JJ.  Opinion by Chicchelly, J.  (6 pages)

            Zachary Liddick appeals the denial of his application for postconviction relief (PCR), which claimed he received ineffective assistance from his trial counsel and counsel in his first PCR action.  OPINION HOLDS: Because Liddick failed to establish the ineffective assistance of either his trial or PCR counsel, we affirm the denial of his PCR application.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Coleman McAllister, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Badding, P.J., Langholz, J., and Bower, S.J.  Opinion by Langholz, J.  (10 pages)

            A father appeals the private termination of his parental rights over his two daughters under Iowa Code chapter 600A (2023).  OPINION HOLDS: Clear and convincing evidence shows that the father abandoned his two daughters and termination of his parental rights is in their best interests.  And he waived and failed to preserve his claim that he is entitled to a jury trial.  We thus affirm the termination of his parental rights.