State of Iowa
v.
Travis Jamal Foreman
Appellee
State of Iowa
Appellant
Travis Jamal Foreman
Attorney for the Appellee
Louis S. Sloven, Assistant Attorney General
Attorney for the Appellant
Alexander Smith
Court of Appeals
Court of Appeals Opinion
Opinion Number:
Date Published:
Summary
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, William P. Kelly, Judge. AFFIRMED IN PART, REVERSED IN PART, AND REMANDED. Heard by Doyle, P.J., and Tabor and Ahlers, JJ. Opinion by Ahlers, J. (26 pages)
Travis Jamal Foreman appeals his convictions for assault causing serious injury and two counts of intimidation with a dangerous weapon with intent. He raises several sufficiency-of-the-evidence claims, ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claims related to the jury instructions defining “assault” and Iowa’s “stand your ground” law, and claims related to a number of other jury instructions. OPINION HOLDS: Substantial evidence supports Foreman’s conviction for one count of intimidation with a dangerous weapon in count III, but substantial evidence does not support Foreman’s conviction in count IV. Foreman’s ineffective-assistance claim related to the “assault” instruction fails because Foreman cannot show a reasonable probability of a different result had the jury received an instruction fully defining “assault.” Foreman’s ineffective-assistance claim related to the “stand your ground” instruction fails because Foreman was not entitled to stand-your-ground protections. Any error in including the other jury instructions Foreman objects to on appeal was harmless. We therefore reverse and remand to the district court for a judgment of acquittal on count IV and affirm the district court on all other counts.
