State of Iowa
v.
Heath Richard Church
Appellee
State of Iowa
Appellant
Heath Richard Church
Attorney for the Appellee
Genevieve Reinkoester, Assistant Attorney General
Attorney for the Appellant
Patrick W. O'Bryan
Court of Appeals
Court of Appeals Opinion
Opinion Number:
Date Published:
Summary
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Sarah Crane, Judge. AFFIRMED. Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Tabor and Schumacher, JJ. Opinion by Schumacher, J. (14 pages)
Heath Church appeals his convictions for burglary in the first degree, assault causing bodily injury, and stalking, arguing the district court erred in admitting evidence of his prior bad acts, denying his motion for judgment of acquittal, and excluding certain impeachment evidence. OPINION HOLDS: It was within the district court’s discretion to admit prior bad acts evidence as its probative value was not substantially outweighed by the risk of unfair prejudice, the record contains substantial evidence to support the jury’s finding, and the district court did not abuse its discretion in excluding impeachment evidence.