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Case No. 17-1531

Chad Stechcon
v.
State of Iowa

Appellant

Chad Stechcon

Appellee

State of Iowa

Attorney for the Appellant

Mark C. Smith, State Appellate Defender

Attorney for the Appellee

Darrel Mullins, Assistant Attorney General

Court of Appeals

Court of Appeals Opinion

Opinion Number:
17-1531
Date Published:
Aug 15, 2018
Summary

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Benton County, Chad A. Kepros and Christopher L. Bruns, Judges.  REVERSED AND REMANDED.  Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Doyle and Mullins, JJ.  Opinion by Vaitheswaran, P.J. (6 pages)

            Chad Stechcon appeals the district court’s summary dismissal of his application for postconviction relief as time-barred, seeking to circumvent the time bar by arguing his “court-appointed postconviction relief counsel was ineffective in failing to file his application for postconviction relief in a timely fashion.”  OPINION HOLDS: We conclude postconviction counsel breached an essential duty and the failure amounted to structural error.  We reverse and remand for adjudication of the merits of Stechon’s untimely filed postconviction-relief application. 

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