State of Iowa
v.
Jeffrey Michael Happe
Appellee
State of Iowa
Appellant
Jeffrey Michael Happe
Attorney for the Appellee
Zachary Miller, Assistant Attorney General
Attorney for the Appellant
John L. Dirks
Court of Appeals
Court of Appeals Opinion
Opinion Number:
Date Published:
Summary
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Story County, Paul G. Crawford and Steven P. Van Marel, District Associate Judges. AFFIRMED. Considered by Tabor, P.J., and May and Greer, JJ. Opinion by Tabor, P.J. (11 pages)
Jeffrey Happe was convicted of harassment in the third degree. He challenges his conviction, urging that there was not sufficient evidence to convict him. He also alleges his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to raise a separation-of-powers argument because he was convicted for breaking a “de facto, nonjudicial protective order.” OPINION HOLDS: Because we find sufficient evidence in the record to convict Happe, we affirm. We also find his ineffective assistance claim without merit because his counsel had no duty to raise a separation-of-powers argument as Happe was not charged for violating a protective order.
