2025 Archive | Court of Appeals Court Opinions

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Butler County, Rustin Davenport, Judge.  AFFIRMED IN PART, VACATED IN PART, AND REMANDED FOR RESENTENCING.  Heard at oral argument by Tabor, C.J., and Ahlers and Langholz, JJ.  Opinion by Tabor, C.J. (20 pages)

            A jury convicted former police officer Michael Tobin Jr. of eleven counts of sexual exploitation of a minor in violation of Iowa Code section 728.12 (2021).  Tobin appeals, arguing that the evidence could not support his nine convictions for promoting or possessing sexually explicit images of minors because he did so in the performance of his official duties.  Short of that, he claims that six of the eight possession violations were not supported by substantial evidence.  The State’s load-bearing evidence was the testimony of C.T., a minor then-Officer Tobin lured into a sexual relationship.  Tobin also raises two evidentiary challenges.  First, he argues that the district court should not have admitted testimony from a twenty-year-old woman about her contemporaneous affair with Tobin under Iowa Rule of Evidence 5.404(b).  Second, he contends that the court misapplied rule 5.412 in excluding C.T.’s testimony that she was bisexual.  Finally, Tobin contests his indeterminate fifteen-year sentence.  OPINION HOLDS: We find no reversible error in the evidentiary rulings.  On the first sufficiency claim, we find Tobin was not conducting official duties when he showed sexually explicit images to C.T.  But the evidence was insufficient to prove he wrongly possessed six of those eight images.  Thus, we vacate his possession convictions on counts four, five, six, seven, ten, and eleven and remand for resentencing on counts one, two, three, eight, and nine.  Given this remedy, we need not address Tobin’s sentencing challenge.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Marshall County, John Haney, Judge.  AFFIRMED IN PART, REVERSED IN PART, AND REMANDED.  Heard at oral argument by Schumacher, P.J., and Buller and Sandy, JJ.  Opinion by Buller, J.  (14 pages)

            A criminal defendant appeals his convictions for domestic abuse assault, challenging evidentiary rulings, the sufficiency of the evidence, the colloquy for his stipulation to multiple previous domestic-abuse convictions, and the fine and surcharge.  OPINION HOLDS: We affirm the defendant’s convictions but, accepting the State’s concessions on appeal, remand for additional proceedings on the enhancement and fine issues.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Jeanie Vaudt, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered without oral argument by Greer, P.J., Badding, J., and Mullins, S.J.  Opinion by Greer, P.J.  (3 pages)

            More than twenty years after he was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison, Dixon filed this postconviction-relief application—his sixth—which the district court summarily dismissed.  Dixon appeals, arguing a new ground of law excepts him from the statute of limitations and that summary dismissal was inappropriate because the State failed to prove he did not raise a genuine issue of material fact.  OPINION HOLDS: Because the State was entitled to summary dismissal as a matter of law, we affirm the district court’s dismissal of Dixon’s sixth postconviction-relief application.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Black Hawk County, David P. Odekirk, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered without oral argument by Greer, P.J., and Langholz and Sandy, JJ.  Opinion by Greer, P.J.  (3 pages)

            The district court summarily dismissed as time-barred David Willock’s third application for postconviction relief (PCR).  Willock urges us to reconsider our supreme court’s holding that the statute of limitations to PCR actions is constitutional.  OPINION HOLDS: We affirm the district court’s dismissal of Willock’s PCR application.

               Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Scott County, John Telleen, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered without oral argument by Ahlers, P.J., Buller, J., and Doyle, S.J.  Telleen, S.J., takes no part.  Opinion by Doyle, S.J.  (3 pages)

               Deven Deschepper appeals the denial of his application for postconviction relief.  OPINION HOLDS: We concur with the postconviction-relief court’s reasons for denying the claims in Deschepper’s application.  We do not consider two new claims Deschepper raises on appeal, which are not preserved for our review.  We affirm under Iowa Court Rule 21.26(1)(d) and (e).

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Howard County, Laura Parrish, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered without oral argument by Schumacher, P.J., and Badding and Chicchelly, JJ.  Opinion by Badding, J.  (8 pages)

            Connor Gibbs appeals a district court ruling that dismissed his application for postconviction relief as time-barred under Iowa Code section 822.3 (2021).  OPINION HOLDS: We affirm the district court’s dismissal of Gibbs’s application, finding no nexus between the asserted ground of fact and the challenged conviction. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Coleman McAllister, Judge.  AFFIRMED AS MODIFIED AND REMANDED.  Considered without oral argument by Schumacher, P.J., and Buller and Langholz, JJ.  Opinion by Langholz, J.  Special concurrence by Buller, J.  (8 pages)

            Kenneth “Mike” Howard appeals the decree dissolving his twenty-three-year marriage with Anna Howard.  He argues the court erred in its child-support calculation, the spousal-support award is “excessive,” and his premarital assets should have been set aside.  OPINION HOLDS: We agree the district court should have considered the spousal-support award in setting the parties’ respective incomes for purposes of calculating child support, and remand with directions for the court to recalculate accordingly.  We find the rehabilitative spousal support award is fair and equitable.  And Mike failed to preserve error on his claim that the court included premarital assets in property division that should have been excluded.  Finally, we decline Anna’s request for appellate attorney fees.  SPECIAL CONCURRENCE ASSERTS: I reluctantly concur.  But if we were writing on a blank slate, I would find Mike’s failure to attend trial precluded appellate review and summarily affirm.

            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.