State of Iowa
v.
Aaron Christopher Ortiz
Appellee
State of Iowa
Appellant
Aaron Christopher Ortiz
Attorney for the Appellee
Genevieve Reinkoester, Assistant Attorney General
Attorney for the Appellant
Joseph C. Glazebrook, Thomas Hurd, and Andrew Duffelmeyer
Court of Appeals
Court of Appeals Opinion
Opinion Number:
Date Published:
Summary
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Robert B. Hanson, Judge. AFFIRMED. Considered by Tabor, P.J., and Mullins and Bower, JJ. Opinion by Tabor, P.J. (14 pages)
Aaron Ortiz appeals his convictions and sentence for assault with intent to commit sexual abuse causing bodily injury. He contends his status as a ward and his intellectual disabilities prevented him from making legal decisions, and his plenary guardian should have been involved at all stages of the criminal case—especially the competency proceedings and the guilty plea hearing. He seeks to establish he is excused from the rules of error preservation due to structural error. OPINION HOLDS: On this undeveloped record, neither the structural error nor the competency issues allow us to reach the merits of the challenge. We also find Ortiz’s sentence is not categorically unconstitutional.
