Ronald Taylor
v.
State of Iowa
Appellant
Ronald Taylor
Appellee
State of Iowa
Attorney for the Appellant
Ashley Beisch
Attorney for the Appellee
Sharon K. Hall, Assistant Attorney General
Court of Appeals
Court of Appeals Opinion
Opinion Number:
Date Published:
Summary
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Buena Vista County, Don E. Courtney, Judge. AFFIRMED. Considered by Doyle, P.J., and Tabor and Ahlers, JJ. Opinion by Tabor, J. (12 pages)
Ronald Taylor appeals the denial of his second and third postconviction-relief (PCR) actions, arguing the PCR court failed to address his claim of actual innocence and trial counsel was ineffective. He contends the district court failed to apply the standard from Schmidt v. State, 909 N.W.2d 778, 797 (Iowa 2018). He also contends his attorney was ineffective (1) for not investigating the State’s threat to file additional charges, (2) in failing to offer proof at the hearing on his motion in arrest of judgment, and (3) in failing to support his motion to withdraw his Alford pleas. OPINION HOLDS: Because the prior PCR action addressed several of these issues, we find them precluded from our review. On the actual-innocence claim, we find the court did apply Schmidt and properly determined Taylor did not meet that heavy burden of proof. On the remaining claim—that counsel was ineffective for not offering evidence to bolster the motion to withdraw his pleas—Taylor fails to show that counsel breached an essential duty. We thus affirm the denial of relief.