Dominic Clester
v.
State of Iowa
Appellant
Dominic Clester
Appellee
State of Iowa
Attorney for the Appellant
Timothy J. Tupper
Attorney for the Appellee
Timothy M. Hau, Assistant Attorney General
Court of Appeals
Court of Appeals Opinion
Opinion Number:
Date Published:
Summary
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Muscatine County, Mark J. Smith, Judge. REVERSED AND REMANDED. Considered by Tabor, P.J., and Mullins and Bower, JJ. Opinion by Tabor, P.J. (10 pages)
Dominic Clester appeals the district court’s dismissal of his application for postconviction relief as a discovery sanction after his appointed postconviction counsel failed to comply with the court’s order to compel discovery responses. OPINION HOLDS: Because the district court made no finding of willfulness, bad faith, or fault, and did not consider the propriety of lesser sanctions, we find the court abused its discretion in dismissing Clester’s postconviction-relief application as a discovery sanction.