2025 Archive | Court of Appeals Court Opinions

            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.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Marshall County, Amy M. Moore, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered without oral argument by Schumacher, P.J., Sandy, J., and Bower, S.J.  Opinion by Schumacher, P.J.  (8 pages)

            Amarrion Isom appeals his conviction for murder in the first degree.  He challenges the sufficiency of the evidence to support his conviction, arguing the State failed to prove he acted with premeditation.  Isom also appeals the use of a jury instruction permitting an inference of malice from Isom’s use of a dangerous weapon.  OPINION HOLDS: As substantial evidence supported the jury’s finding that Isom acted with premeditation and that the shooting was not an accidental discharge, we find no error in the use of the challenged jury instruction and uphold Isom’s conviction. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Johnson County, Elizabeth Dupuich, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered without oral argument by Schumacher, P.J., Buller, J., and Bower, S.J.  Opinion by Buller, J.  (6 pages)

            A criminal defendant appeals his convictions for two counts of sexual abuse in the second degree, asserting the district court erred in admitting statements he claims were inadmissible hearsay.  OPINION HOLDS: We affirm, finding two of the challenged statements were not hearsay and the third was covered by at least one exception and in any event cumulative and harmless.

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

            A criminal defendant appeals his discretionary sentence, claiming the district court abused its discretion in considering a victim impact statement and providing inadequate reasons for running his misdemeanor sentence consecutively to his two felony sentences.  OPINION HOLDS: Because he didn’t object below when the victim impact statement was read by the prosecutor at the sentencing hearing, that claim is not preserved.  Finding no consideration of any improper factor or abuse of discretion in sentencing, we affirm. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Coleman McAllister, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Heard at oral argument by Greer, P.J., and Badding and Chicchelly, JJ.  Opinion by Greer, P.J.  (21 pages)

            After he required a below-the-knee amputation of his left leg, Jason McKenney brought a lawsuit alleging negligent care against the defendant medical-care providers.  A jury returned a finding of no negligence, which McKenney appeals.  He argues the district court erred in admitting a copy of the referral to the wound clinic both because it was hearsay and because it was “altered” by someone at the medical facility and, thus, constituted fraud on the court.  McKenney also raises a claim of misconduct and misrepresentations made by counsel for the defendants during trial, which he asserts necessitates a new trial.  OPINION HOLDS:  After review, we reject McKenney’s evidentiary challenges and affirm the denial of the motion for new trial.  

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Pottwattamie County, Michael Hooper, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered without oral argument by Greer, P.J., and Langholz and Sandy, JJ.  Opinion by Greer, P.J.  (13 pages)

            LeGear appeals the denial of his fourth PCR petition, claiming the district court erred in granting the State’s motion for summary disposition and his PCR counsel provided ineffective assistance.  OPINION HOLDS:  Because LeGear’s claim does not raise a new issue of fact, his fourth PCR petition is time-barred.  And because his PCR petition was time-barred, LeGear cannot show counsel’s actions were prejudicial.