Skip to main content
Iowa Judicial Branch
Main Content

Case No. 18-0446

State of Iowa
v.
Harold Lathrop

Appellee

State of Iowa

Appellant

Harold Lathrop

Attorney for the Appellee

Kyle P. Hanson, Assistant Attorney General

Attorney for the Appellant

Ashley Stewart, Assistant Appellate Defender

Court of Appeals

Court of Appeals Opinion

Opinion Number:
18-0446
Date Published:
Jan 23, 2019
Summary

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Marshall County, Kim M. Riley, District Associate Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Tabor, P.J., and Mullins and Bower, JJ.  Opinion by Tabor, P.J.  (7 pages)

            Harold Lathrop challenges his sentence following convictions for second-degree theft and driving while barred.  First, he contends the sentencing court did not provide sufficient reasons for imposing the sentence following his plea of guilty by plea agreement.  Second, he contends the court’s order that he pay an at-that-time unknown amount of restitution was an abuse of discretion because the court did not determine whether he had the reasonable ability to pay.  OPINION HOLDS: First, because there is a diminished duty to give reasons for the sentence where the sentencing court accepts and adopts the parties’ plea agreement, we find no abuse of discretion in the court’s sentencing.  Second, the sentencing court had no obligation to make an ability-to-pay determination until it entered a plan of restitution, which had not been done in this case.  As the court had no obligation to make the determination, we find Lathrop’s challenge to be premature.  We affirm.  

© 2024 Iowa Judicial Branch. All Rights Reserved.