Jimmy Dean Stevens
v.
State of Iowa
Appellant
Jimmy Dean Stevens
Appellee
State of Iowa
Attorney for the Appellant
Geneva L. Williams
Attorney for the Appellee
Tyler J. Buller, Assistant Attorney General
Court of Appeals
Court of Appeals Opinion
Opinion Number:
Date Published:
Summary
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Black Hawk County, David P. Odekirk, Judge. AFFIRMED. Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Doyle and Mullins, JJ. Opinion by Mullins, J. (12 pages)
Jimmy Stevens appeals the district court’s denial of his application for postconviction relief (PCR), contending the district court erred in concluding retroactive application of Rhoades v. State, 848 N.W.2d 22 (Iowa 2014), is not required by the due process clause of the state constitution and the equal protection clauses of the federal and state constitutions. Alternatively, he argues his PCR counsel rendered ineffective assistance in failing to urge retroactive application of Rhoades on nonconstitutional common law grounds. OPINION HOLDS: We find Stevens was not denied due process or equal protection and PCR counsel was not ineffective as alleged. We affirm the district court’s denial of Stevens’s PCR application.