State of Iowa
v.
Christina Bennett
Appellee
State of Iowa
Appellant
Christina Bennett
Attorney for the Appellee
Bridget A. Chambers, Assistant Attorney General
Attorney for the Appellant
Maria Ruhtenberg, Assistant Appellate Defender
Court of Appeals
Court of Appeals Opinion
Opinion Number:
Date Published:
Summary
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Heather L. Lauber and Lawrence P. McLellan, Judges. CONVICTIONS AFFIRMED; SENTENCE VACATED AND REMANDED FOR RESENTENCING. Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., Mullins, J., and Potterfield, S.J. Opinion by Vaitheswaran, P.J. (9 pages)
Christina Bennett appeals following her guilty plea to lottery ticket fraud, failure to appear, and driving without the owner’s consent, arguing (1) the prosecutor breached the plea agreement when he recommended incarceration rather than probation, and her attorney was ineffective in failing to challenge the breach; (2) the district court erred in ordering her to reimburse the sheriff for jail room-and-board expenses without determining her reasonable ability to pay those expenses; and (3) if the reimbursement order was a civil judgment rather than a criminal restitution order, the statute authorizing payment of the expenses without affording her the opportunity to be heard violated due process. OPINION HOLDS: We affirm Bennett’s convictions. We vacate her sentences and remand for resentencing before a different judge.
