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Case No. 18-1927

State of Iowa
v.
Devontez David Voigts

Appellee

State of Iowa

Appellant

Devontez David Voigts

Attorney for the Appellee

Louis S. Sloven, Assistant Attorney General

Attorney for the Appellant

Robert P. Ranschau, Assistant Appellate Defender

Court of Appeals

Court of Appeals Opinion

Opinion Number:
18-1927
Date Published:
Oct 23, 2019
Summary

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Story County, Bethany Currie, Judge.  AFFIRMED ON CONDITION AND REMANDED WITH DIRECTIONS.  Considered by Tabor, P.J., and Mullins and May, JJ.  Opinion by Mullins, J. (5 pages)

            Devontez Voigts appeals his convictions of second-degree sexual abuse and willful injury causing bodily injury.  He argues the district court erred in overruling his challenge to the racial composition of the jury pool, which violated his constitutional right to a jury drawn from a fair cross-section of the community.  OPINION HOLDS: We agree with the district court that Voigts failed to meet his burden to establish a prima facie case of a fair cross-section violation.  However, because the parties did not have the benefit of recent refinements to Iowa law, we remand the matter to the district court to give Voigts an opportunity to develop his argument that his constitutional right to an impartial jury was violated; if the court finds a violation occurred, it shall grant Voigts a new trial. 

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