Jessie James Jones
v.
State of Iowa
Appellant
Jessie James Jones
Appellee
State of Iowa
Attorney for the Appellant
Stuart G. Hoover
Attorney for the Appellee
Sheryl Soich, Assistant Attorney General
Court of Appeals
Court of Appeals Opinion
Opinion Number:
Date Published:
Summary
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Clinton County, Tom Reidel, Judge. AFFIRMED. Considered by Potterfield, P.J., and Tabor and Bower, JJ. Opinion by Potterfield, P.J. (15 pages)
Jessie Jones appeals the denial of his application for postconviction relief (PCR) following his conviction of sexual abuse in the second degree. Jones claims the PCR court abused its discretion in denying his application for the appointment of an expert to testify in his PCR hearing regarding the standard of professional conduct for attorneys. Additionally, Jones argues his PCR application should have been granted because his trial counsel breached an essential duty by (1) failing to call an expert to emphasize the lack of rape-kit evidence; (2) failing to contest evidence of Jones’s DNA found on the complaining witness’s “wrong” underwear or explain the limitations to DNA evidence; (3) failing to challenge whether the jury panel was made up of a fair cross section of the community; (4) wrongly advising Jones regarding possible impeachment based on his prior convictions and, as a result, wrongly advising Jones not to testify in his own defense. He asks that we consider the cumulative effect of trial counsel’s errors. OPINION HOLDS: Because the PCR court did not abuse its discretion in denying Jones’s request for the appointment of another attorney to act as a legal expert regarding his claims of ineffective assistance and because Jones has not established any of his claims of ineffective assistance of trial counsel, we affirm the denial of his application for PCR.
