2025 Archive | Court of Appeals Court Opinions

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Cass County, Richard H. Davidson, Judge.  CONVICTION AFFIRMED, SENTENCE VACATED, AND REMANDED FOR FURTHER PROCEEDINGS.  Considered without oral argument by Greer, P.J., Badding, J., and Potterfield, S.J.  Opinion by Badding, J.  (12 pages)

            Tyler Mills appeals his conviction for third-offense stalking, challenging the denial of his motion for mistrial, the sufficiency of the evidence, and a sentencing enhancement that the district court imposed based on Mills’s stipulation to prior stalking convictions.  OPINION HOLDS: We find no abuse of discretion in the court’s denial of Mills’s mistrial motion, and substantial evidence supports the disputed elements of his conviction.  However, we agree with Mills that the district court’s colloquy failed to confirm that his stipulation to prior convictions was voluntary and intelligent.  Therefore, we vacate Mills’s sentence and remand this case for further proceedings.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Story County, Jennifer Miller, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered without oral argument by Schumacher, P.J., Chicchelly, J., and Mullins, S.J.  Opinion by Mullins, S.J.  (3 pages)

            James McCurdy appeals the district court’s dismissal of his application for postconviction relief, arguing the three-year limitations period in Iowa Code section 822.3 (2023) is unconstitutional.  OPINION HOLDS: McCurdy fails to explain why we should second-guess the constitutionality of section 822.3 based on the Supreme Court’s reasoning in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen, 597 U.S. 1 (2022).  We therefore deem any constitutional challenge waived.  Because McCurdy filed his application long after the three-year limitations period had closed, we affirm dismissal.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Celene Gogerty, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered without oral argument by Tabor, C.J., and Ahlers and Langholz, JJ.  Opinion by Ahlers, J. (5 pages)

            Darion Hermes appeals his sentence after pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter and robbery in the first degree.  He claims the court abused its discretion when determining the mandatory minimum sentence for the robbery conviction.  OPINION HOLDS: We affirm because the sentencing court considered many relevant factors before reaching its decision and therefore did not abuse its discretion when determining the mandatory minimum.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Benton County, Chad Kepros, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered without oral argument by Schumacher, P.J., and Buller and Sandy, JJ.  Opinion by Buller, J.  (14 pages)

            A criminal defendant appeals her conviction for first-degree murder.  OPINION HOLDS: Finding no abuse of discretion in the district court’s denial of venue change or a mistrial, substantial evidence supporting the verdict, and the jury instruction claim to be unpreserved, we affirm.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Lyon County, Jessica Noll, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered without oral argument by Greer, P.J., and Badding and Chicchelly, JJ.  Opinion by Badding, J. (5 pages)

            Jackson Nockels was convicted for first-offense operating while intoxicated.  He appeals the denial of his motion to suppress, arguing that because the deputy lacked reasonable suspicion to initiate the traffic stop, his federal and state constitutional rights were violated.  OPINION HOLDS: Considering the totality of the circumstances, we agree with the district court that the deputy had reasonable suspicion to initiate the stop.  Accordingly, we affirm the denial of the motion to suppress.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Black Hawk County, Melissa Anderson-Seeber, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered without oral argument by Tabor, C.J., and Greer and Buller, JJ.  Opinion by Greer, J.  (12 pages)

            Roland Ricardo Anderson appeals the district court order denying his application for postconviction relief, arguing he received ineffective assistance from trial counsel.  OPINION HOLDS: We affirm, as Anderson failed to meet his burden to prove ineffective assistance of counsel.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Boone County, Ashley Beisch, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered without oral argument by Schumacher, P.J., and Badding and Langholz, JJ.  Opinion by Schumacher, P.J. (10 pages)

            Kirby appeals his conviction of two counts of assault on persons in certain occupations, challenging the sufficiency of the evidence.  OPINION HOLDS: Following our review, we affirm.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Cerro Gordo County, Karen Kaufman Salic, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered without oral argument by Greer, P.J., and Badding and Chicchelly, JJ.  Opinion by Badding, J. (4 pages)

            Kenneth Nelson appeals the sentences imposed following his guilty pleas to two charges of third-offense possession of controlled substances.  OPINION HOLDS: Finding no abuse of the district court’s discretion, we affirm.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Marion County, David Faith, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered without oral argument by Schumacher, P.J., and Badding and Langholz, JJ.  Opinion by Schumacher, J.  (3 pages)

            Defendant appeals two convictions, claiming an Iowa statute relating to search and seizure of garbage is unconstitutional.  OPINION HOLDS: We affirm the district court’s denial of Lowman’s motion to suppress the challenged evidence.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Dubuque County, Monica Zrinyi Ackley, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered without oral argument by Tabor, C.J., and Ahlers and Langholz, JJ.  Opinion by Tabor, C.J.  (7 pages)

            M.T. appeals the protective order entered under Iowa Code chapter 236A (2024) barring him from contact with his five-year-old daughter, N.W.  He contends the child’s mother A.W. failed to meet her burden to prove he sexually abused N.W.  OPINION HOLDS: We find A.W. proved the sexual abuse allegations by a preponderance of the evidence, so we affirm. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Brendan Greiner, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered without oral argument by Schumacher, P.J., and Badding and Langholz, JJ.  Opinion by Langholz, J. (6 pages)

            Jeremy Batiste appeals his sentence for domestic-abuse assault causing bodily injury, arguing that the district court improperly considered unproven criminal conduct when it considered his guilty plea and failure to appear for sentencing in a separate criminal case shortly before his commission of this offense.  OPINION HOLDS: The court indeed relied on the conduct Batiste challenges on appeal.  But the court could properly do so because Batiste’s counsel admitted at sentencing that the conduct occurred.  We thus affirm Batiste’s sentence.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Linn County, David M. Cox, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered without oral argument by Schumacher, P.J., and Buller and Sandy, JJ.  Opinion by Buller, J.  (9 pages)

            A father appeals the district court’s modified dissolution decree placing physical care of his children with their mother.  OPINION HOLDS: Considering the history of these parents, the record before us, and the district court’s findings, we affirm the district court’s order and we decline to award either party appellate attorneys’ fees.