2025 Archive | Court of Appeals Court Opinions

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Black Hawk County, Melissa Anderson-Seeber, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered without oral argument by Schumacher, P.J. and Ahlers and Badding, JJ.  Opinion by Schumacher, P.J.  (6 pages)

            An applicant appeals the district court’s denial of his application for postconviction relief (PCR) following 2011 convictions for possession with intent to deliver (cocaine), failure to affix a drug tax stamp, disarming a police officer, and interference with official acts.  He claims his trial counsel was ineffective in failing to call a material witness and failing to subpoena a mental-health professional with sufficient time for the mental-health professional to prepare and effectively testify.  OPINION HOLDS: Because the applicant did not establish prejudice, his ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claims fail.  Accordingly, we affirm.

Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Dubuque County, Monica Zrinyi Ackley, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered without oral argument by Schumacher, P.J., Buller, J., and Carr, S.J.  Opinion by Schumacher, P.J.  Special Concurrence by Buller, J.  (11 pages)

            Derrick Moore appeals his conviction for introduction of contraband into a correctional institution.  OPINION HOLDS: Because the substance of Moore’s appeal argues the State failed to present sufficient evidence to support the conviction, we determine the issue Moore raises on appeal is a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence.  Substantial evidence supports Moore’s conviction.  SPECIAL CONCURRENCE ASSERTS: I write separately to address the recurring issue of criminal appellants conflating motions for new trial and motions for judgment of acquittal.  If we cannot readily discern what issues are raised, we should deem them waived.  I would not have reached the merits here, though I do not disagree with the majority’s analysis had the issue been properly raised.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Black Hawk County, Joel A. Dalrymple, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered without oral argument by Chicchelly, P.J., Buller, J., and Vogel, S.J.  Opinion by Vogel, S.J.  (4 pages)

            Skylar Williams-Rankin appeals the denial of postconviction relief from his convictions for strangling and shooting his girlfriend.  OPINION HOLDS: Because neither of Williams-Rankin’s allegations of ineffective assistance raised on appeal were ruled on below, he has failed to preserve any issue for appellate review. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Johnson County, Justin Lightfoot, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered without oral argument by Ahlers, P.J., and Badding and Buller, JJ.  Opinion by Buller, J.  (7 pages)

            An applicant for postconviction relief appeals the denial of his application claiming there were disputed material facts regarding whether counsel was ineffective in developing a record on what he alleges was systematic exclusion of African American jurors in violation of the Iowa Constitution.  OPINION HOLDS: We affirm.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Adair County, Stacy Ritchie, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered without oral argument by Greer, P.J., Sandy, J., and Telleen, S.J.  Opinion by Telleen, S.J.  (5 pages)

            Stephen Wilson appeals the district court’s denial of his motion for new trial, arguing the court defied our mandate on remand by reconsidering his motion without further notice or hearing.  OPINION HOLDS: Finding no procedural error, we affirm the district court’s order denying Wilson’s motion for new trial.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Marshall County, Kathryn E. Austin, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered without oral argument by Tabor, C.J., Langholz, J., and Vogel, S.J.  Opinion by Tabor, C.J.  (4 pages)

            Ephirem Gurisho entered Alford pleas to two counts of assault with intent to commit sexual abuse and one count of indecent contact with a child.  The district court sentenced him to incarceration for an indeterminate twelve-year term with credit for time served.  Gurisho contends that the court abused its discretion by imposing consecutive sentences of incarceration without stating sufficient reasons.  OPINION HOLDS: Finding adequate reasons in the sentencing colloquy, we affirm.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Clinton County, Meghan Corbin, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered without oral argument by Greer, P.J., and Langholz and Sandy, JJ.  Opinion by Sandy, J.  (6 pages)

            Todd Adams appeals the dissolution decree ending his marriage with Carol Bower.  He claims his guardian ad litem did not provide adequate representation and the court’s decision awarding the marital residence to Bower was inequitable.  OPINION HOLDS: We affirm.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Ida County, Tod Deck, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Heard at oral argument by Tabor, C.J., and Ahlers and Langholz, JJ.  Opinion by Ahlers, J. (14 pages)

            Jesus Diaz challenges the sufficiency of the evidence supporting his conviction for second-degree murder.  He also challenges a jury instruction permitting jurors to infer malice from his use of a dangerous weapon.  Finally, he contends the district court improperly denied his motions for mistrial.  OPINION HOLDS: Substantial evidence supports Diaz’s conviction for second-degree murder.  Diaz failed to preserve error on his jury-instruction challenge.  As to the challenges to the rulings on his mistrial motions, Diaz failed to preserve error on one.  As to the two preserved challenges, the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying the mistrial motions.  We affirm accordingly.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Muscatine County, Meghan Corbin, Judge.  CONVICTION AFFIRMED, SENTENCE VACATED, AND REMANDED FOR FURTHER PROCEEDINGS.  Considered without oral argument by Ahlers, P.J., and Badding and Buller, JJ.  Opinion by Badding, J. (10 pages)

            Raul Liendo appeals his conviction and sentence for introduction of contraband onto the grounds of a jail, challenging the sufficiency of the evidence supporting his conviction, the district court’s failure to engage in an adequate habitual-offender colloquy, and its imposition of a fine.  OPINION HOLDS: Under the unchallenged marshaling instruction in this case, we find that substantial evidence supports Liendo’s conviction because he was “confined” within the ordinary meaning of the word, he knew that he had Fireball whiskey on his person, and the evidence showed the liquid in the bottle was whiskey, an intoxicating beverage.  While we affirm his conviction, we vacate his sentence and remand for further proceedings because the court’s habitual offender colloquy was deficient. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Scott County, Mark Fowler, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered without oral argument by Schumacher, P.J., and Badding and Chicchelly, JJ.  Opinion by Badding, J.  (10 pages)

            DeWayne Sanders appeals the decree dissolving his marriage to Tameka Sanders, claiming the court erred in “failing to allow [him] to continue the trial date or submit evidence at or after trial.”  He also claims the court’s property division was inequitable.  OPINION HOLDS: We find that DeWayne’s claim concerning his motion to continue is not preserved for our review, and we reject his other procedural claims.  After our de novo review of the record, we find that while not equal, the district court’s property distribution was equitable given the parties’ short-term marriage and considerable debt. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Heather Lauber, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Heard at oral argument by Tabor, C.J., and Ahlers and Langholz, JJ.  Opinion by Tabor, C.J.  (11 pages)

            Leonard Boyd appeals the grant of summary judgment to a hospital for medical negligence and negligent hiring, supervision, and retention.  OPINION HOLDS: We find Boyd is unable to generate a genuine issue of material fact that the defendants caused an injury.  So we affirm the grant of summary judgment.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Winnebago County, Blake H. Norman, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered without oral argument by Greer, P.J., Chicchelly, J., and Potterfield, S.J.  Opinion by Greer, P.J.  (9 pages)

            Walter Stachar was convicted of sexual abuse in the second degree after a three-day trial by jury.  He appeals, arguing there was insufficient evidence to support his conviction for sexually abusing his niece, that the prosecutor made improper statements and vouched for the complaining witness, and that the district court abused its discretion in denying his motion for new trial based on the weight of the evidence.  OPINION HOLDS: Substantial evidence supports Stachar’s conviction, his claim about the prosecutor’s allegedly improper statements is not preserved, and the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying his motion for new trial.  We affirm.