December 2025 Archive | Court of Appeals Court Opinions

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Shelby County, Jennifer Benson Bahr, Judge.  REVERSED AND REMANDED.  Heard at oral argument by Greer, P.J., and Badding and Chicchelly, JJ.  Opinion by Badding, J.  (26 pages)

            Robert Arkfeld appeals his conviction for serious injury by intoxicated operation of a motor vehicle.  He challenges the denial of his motion to suppress, the sufficiency of the evidence, the exclusion of evidence about the victim’s intoxication, and the district court’s refusal to give his proposed jury instructions on causation.  OPINION HOLDS: The court properly denied Arkfeld’s motion to suppress, and substantial evidence supports the jury’s conclusion that cocaine metabolites were present in Arkfeld’s system while he was operating the vehicle.  However, the State failed to present sufficient evidence that Arkfeld’s intoxicated operation caused the victim’s death.  Accordingly, we reverse Arkfeld’s conviction and remand for entry of judgment on the lesser-included offense of operating while intoxicated.  As a result, we do not reach the remaining evidentiary and instructional issues.

          Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Scott County, Joel W. Barrows, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered without oral argument by Tabor, C.J., and Greer and Buller, JJ.  Opinion by Tabor, C.J.  (10 pages)

          David Levy contends his trial counsel was ineffective in failing to resist the trial court’s decision to close the courtroom during a witness’s testimony and failing to object to statements during the State’s rebuttal closing argument that Levy was “dishonest.”  OPINION HOLDS: Neither challenge constitutes ineffective assistance of counsel, so we affirm denial of relief. 

Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Woodbury County, Zachary Hindman, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered without oral argument by Greer, P.J., and Badding and Chicchelly, JJ.  Opinion by Badding, J.  (15 pages)

            Asa Starr appeals his convictions for first-degree robbery, assault while participating in a felony, and felon in possession of a firearm.  He challenges each conviction, asserting that (1) the evidence was insufficient to identify him as the robber; (2) the district court erred in overruling his objection to a witness’s in-court identification because it exceeded the scope of the minutes of testimony; and (3) the State improperly relied on a juvenile adjudication to prove that he was a felon in possession of a firearm.  OPINION HOLDS: Substantial evidence supports all of Starr’s convictions.  The minutes of testimony were sufficient to put Starr on notice of the possibility that the witness would identify him.  The district court also correctly interpreted the relevant statutory provisions regarding the admissibility of Starr’s juvenile adjudication to prove he was a felon in possession of a firearm.  Accordingly, we affirm.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Scott D. Rosenberg, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered without oral argument by Tabor, C.J., and Greer and Buller, JJ.  Opinion by Buller, J.  (6 pages)

            A plaintiff appeals an adverse summary-judgment ruling finding her petition was barred by the statute of limitations.  OPINION HOLDS: Because we discern no legal error in the district court’s ruling, we affirm. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Joseph Seidlin, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered without oral argument by Tabor, C.J., and Greer and Buller, JJ.  Opinion by Buller, J.  (4 pages)

            A plaintiff appeals an adverse summary-judgment ruling on his defamation claim.  OPINION HOLDS: We affirm, finding the statements at issue were a "supportable interpretation" of the events at issue and therefore not actionable in a defamation suit. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Chickasaw County, Richard D. Stochl, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered without oral argument by Schumacher, P.J., Sandy, J., and Telleen, S.J.  Opinion by Telleen, S.J. (8 pages)

            Randy Lee Patrie appeals his conviction for first-degree murder, arguing the State presented insufficient evidence of his guilt.  OPINION HOLDS: Because the evidence of Patrie’s guilt is overwhelming, we affirm. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Pottawattamie County, Michael Hooper, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Heard at oral argument by Greer, P.J., and Chicchelly and Buller, JJ.  Opinion by Greer, P.J. (17 pages)

            A jury convicted Jesse Smith of sexual abuse in the third degree.  On appeal, Smith challenges (1) the sufficiency of the evidence supporting his conviction, (2) the court’s decision to admit certain exhibits during trial, and (3) the court’s decision to allow certain testimony from the medical examiner during trial.  OPINION HOLDS: On our review, we affirm.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Scott D. Rosenberg, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered without oral argument by Tabor, C.J., Badding, J., and Bower, S.J.  Opinion by Bower, S.J.  (7 pages)

            William Burton appeals the district court’s denial of his application for postconviction relief following his 2019 conviction of second-degree murder.  Burton asserts six claims that his trial counsel was ineffective.  OPINION HOLDS: Because Burton did not establish prejudice, his ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claims fail.  Accordingly, we affirm.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Marshall County, Kathryn E. Austin, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered without oral argument by Ahlers, P.J., and Chicchelly and Sandy, JJ.  Opinion by Chicchelly, J.  (8 pages)

            Samuel Mendoza appeals his convictions for assault and child endangerment.  He argues there was insufficient evidence to support his convictions for either charge. OPINION HOLDS: Because we find substantial evidence supports Mendoza’s convictions for child endangerment and assault, we affirm.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Wright County, Gregg Rosenbladt, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered without oral argument by Schumacher, P.J., and Badding and Langholz, JJ.  Opinion by Badding, J.  (5 pages)

            Joseph Stetz appeals his sentences following a guilty plea.  He argues that the district court improperly relied on unproven offenses in the victim impact statement and that the relevant sentencing factors supported a sentence of probation.  OPINION HOLDS: Finding no abuse of the district court’s discretion, we affirm.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Monona County, Tod Deck, Judge. AFFIRMED.  Considered without oral argument by Tabor, C.J., and Ahlers and Langholz, JJ.  Opinion by Ahlers, J.  (3 pages)

            A postconviction-relief applicant appeals the dismissal of his second application for postconviction relief.  OPINION HOLDS: Because the applicant’s application did not allege any facts or provide any explanation as to why he could not have learned of the underlying facts supporting his claims within the three-year statute of limitations, the new-ground-of-fact exception to the statute of limitations does not apply.  The district court correctly dismissed the application as time-barred.

          Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Scott County, Stuart P. Werling, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Heard at oral argument by Tabor, C.J., and Badding and Sandy, JJ.  Opinion by Tabor, C.J.  (5 pages)

          James Mathias appeals the denial of his postconviction relief petition, alleging his counsel was ineffective by not challenging the constitutionality of Iowa Code section 724.4B (2017).  OPINION HOLDS: Mathias’s appeal frames the constitutional challenge under an ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claim.  Because the district court decided the constitutional challenge as a freestanding claim, error is not preserved, and we affirm.