State of Iowa
v.
Vance Archille Good
Appellee
State of Iowa
Appellant
Vance Archille Good
Attorney for the Appellee
Darrel 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 Pottawattamie County, Richard H. Davidson, Judge. AFFIRMED. Heard by Bower, C.J., and Doyle and Schumacher, JJ. Opinion by Bower, C.J. (16 pages)
Vance Archilee Good appeals from his conviction for first-degree murder, contending there is insufficient evidence of robbery, malice aforethought, or premeditation to support the conviction. He also asserts the court abused its discretion in allowing a photograph of one of his tattoos to be viewed by the jury. Finally, he maintains the court erred in allowing “backdoor hearsay.” OPINION HOLDS: Because there is substantial evidence to support the conviction, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in admitting the photograph, and we are not persuaded that the so-called backdoor hearsay “undermined Good’s sole defense of self-defense” and denied him a fair trial, we affirm.