August 2024 Archive | Court of Appeals Court Opinions

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Muscatine County, Tamra Roberts, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Badding, P.J., and Langholz and Sandy, JJ.  Opinion by Sandy, J.  (5 pages)

            Justin Loper appeals from a jury verdict and district court judgment to the same finding the appellees, Bradley Bark, D.C. and Bark Chiropractic & Rehab Clinic, LLC, not liable for alleged injuries and damages sustained by Loper, arguing the district court erred in permitting cross-examination of an expert witness concerning prior allegations made by the Iowa Board of Medicine against the expert witness.  OPINION HOLDS: Finding that Loper has failed to preserve error on his statutory argument, we affirm the district court’s judgment.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Bremer County, Peter B. Newell, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Ahlers, P.J., and Chicchelly and Buller, JJ.  Opinion by Ahlers, P.J.  (7 pages)

            Jerod Cox appeals the denial of his motion to suppress, arguing officers who seized him did not have reasonable suspicion to demand he exit his vehicle.  OPINION HOLDS: Because we find the officer had reasonable suspicion to believe Cox was intoxicated, justifying Cox’s detention and the officers’ order for Cox to exit his vehicle, we affirm.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Scott County, Patrick A. McElyea, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Greer, P.J., and Ahlers and Badding, JJ.  Opinion by Badding, J.  (3 pages)

            A defendant appeals his criminal sentences.  OPINION HOLDS: Finding no abuse of discretion or defect in sentencing procedure, we affirm. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Jasper County, Charles C. Sinnard, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Ahlers, P.J., and Chicchelly and Buller, JJ.  Opinion by Buller, J.  (3 pages)

            The applicant appeals the denial of his postconviction relief application, asserting he sufficiently pled newly discovered evidence to bypass the statute of limitations.  OPINION HOLDS: Because the applicant pled only a generic allegation of newly discovered evidence, with no facts or specifics to support it, we affirm dismissal of the application.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Dubuque County, Mark T. Hostager, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Ahlers, P.J., and Chicchelly and Buller, JJ.  Opinion by Ahlers, P.J. (5 pages)

            Michael Radtke Jr. appeals his sentence for operating while intoxicated, second offense, arguing the district court abused its discretion by sentencing him to prison instead of a jail sentence with a suspended term of incarceration with probation.  OPINION HOLDS: Because we find the district court did not abuse its discretion, we affirm.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Kimberly J. Smith, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Tabor, C.J., and Chicchelly and Sandy, JJ.  Opinion by Sandy, J.  (6 pages)

            Following his convictions for child endangerment and domestic abuse assault causing bodily injury, Armstrong Kyne appeals the revocation of his bond, arguing his statutory and constitutional rights were violated, as well as his sentence, arguing the district court made errors of law and considered inappropriate factors.  OPINION HOLDS: We affirm the district court ruling because we lack jurisdiction to address the issue of his bond revocation, and the district court made no abuse of discretion and considered no improper factors in his sentencing.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Scott County, Tamra J. Roberts, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Tabor, C.J., and Greer and Schumacher, JJ.  Opinion by Greer, J.  Dissent by Tabor, C.J.  (10 pages)

            Brandon Ruiz appeals the dismissal of his second application for postconviction relief (PCR).  He asks us to adopt equitable tolling and, alternatively, claims he is entitled to relief because counsel for this PCR action failed to submit any filings on his behalf in the district court, resulting in the dismissal of his case.  OPINION HOLDS: We affirm the dismissal of Ruiz’s second PCR application.  DISSENT ASSERTS: Because I believe that Ruiz was denied his right to effective assistance of postconviction counsel, I respectfully dissent.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Greene County, Ashley Beisch, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Tabor, P.J., Chicchelly, J., and Danilson, S.J.  Opinion by Danilson, S.J.  (10 pages)

            A mother appeals the termination of her parental rights.  OPINION HOLDS: The State established a statutory ground for termination.  Termination is in the child’s best interests.  We decline to apply any permissive exceptions to termination or to establish a guardianship in lieu of termination.  We do not grant the mother any additional time to work towards reunification.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Warren County, Kevin Parker, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Schumacher, P.J., and Chicchelly and Buller, JJ.  Opinion by Buller, J.  (8 pages)

            A mother appeals the termination of parental rights and denial of her request for additional time.  OPINION HOLDS: Despite the deficiencies in the juvenile court’s ruling, we affirm.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Fayette County, Linnea M.N. Nichol, Judge.  AFFIRMED IN PART AND VACATED IN PART.  Considered by Tabor, P.J., and Chicchelly and Buller, JJ.  Opinion by Chicchelly, J.  (10 pages)

            A mother appeals a bridge order entered in a child-in-need-of-assistance proceeding.  OPINION HOLDS: I. We affirm the issuance of a bridge order granting the parents joint legal custody of the child and placing the child in the father’s physical care.  We vacate the portion of the order conditioning the mother’s ability to exercise visitation with the child on access to the mother’s confidential medical and mental-health records.  II. We find no due process violation based on the incomplete transcript of the permanency hearing.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Scott County, Korie Talkington, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Badding, P.J., Chicchelly, J., and Potterfield, S.J.  Opinion by Potterfield, S.J.  (7 pages)

            The juvenile court terminated the mother’s parental rights to K.R., born in 2014, pursuant to Iowa Code section 232.116(1)(d), (e), (f), and (i) (2024).  The mother appeals, challenging the statutory grounds for termination and whether the loss of her rights is in K.R.’s best interests.  OPINION HOLDS: Without an approved home study of the shelter where the mother was living in Florida, the juvenile court could not return custody of K.R. to the mother at the time of the termination trial.  The statutory ground for termination under section 232.116(1)(f) was proved.  And because the mother and K.R. have had no in-person contact in seven years and K.R. has a heightened need for a safe, stable home, termination of the mother’s rights is in his best interest. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Linn County, Carrie K. Bryner, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Greer, P.J., Ahlers, J., and Mullins, S.J.  Opinion by Mullins, S.J.  (4 pages)

            A father appeals the termination of his parental rights.  OPINION HOLDS: Finding no cause for reversal, we affirm.