State of Iowa
v.
Jason Bendickson
Appellee
State of Iowa
Appellant
Jason Bendickson
Attorney for the Appellee
Darrel L. Mullins, Assistant Attorney General
Attorney for the Appellant
Shellie L. Knipfer, Assistant Appellate Defender
Court of Appeals
Court of Appeals Opinion
Opinion Number:
Date Published:
Summary
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Cerro Gordo County, Colleen D. Weiland, James M. Drew, Gregg R. Rosenbladt, and Rustin T. Davenport, Judges. CONDITIONALLY AFFIRMED AND REMANDED WITH DIRECTIONS. Considered by Danilson, C.J., and Vogel and Tabor, JJ. Opinion by Tabor, J. (12 pages)
Jason Bendickson appeals from two convictions asserting he is actually innocent despite pleading guilty and, citing the intervening decision in Schmidt v. State, 909 N.W.2d 778, 789 (Iowa 2018), asks the court to remand for the district court to address his claim. OPINION HOLDS: Because the district court found only that his guilty plea was knowing and voluntary and because Schmidt held defendants can assert a claim of actual innocence that is extrinsic to the plea, we agree a remand is appropriate. We conditionally affirm Bendickson’s convictions and remand for a hearing on his freestanding claim of actual innocence.
