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Case No. 21-0759

State of Iowa
v.
Revette Ann Sauser

Appellee

State of Iowa

Appellant

Revette Ann Sauser

Attorney for the Appellee

Tyler J. Buller, Assistant Attorney General

Attorney for the Appellant

Ashley Stewart, Assistant Appellate Defender

Court of Appeals

Court of Appeals Opinion

Opinion Number:
21-0759
Date Published:
Sep 21, 2022
Summary

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Delaware County, Joel A. Dalrymple, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Tabor and Badding, JJ.  Opinion by Badding, J.  Special Concurrence by Tabor, J. (10 pages)

            Revette Sauser appeals her conviction for murder in the first degree, claiming the district court erred in refusing to instruct the jury on voluntary manslaughter.  OPINION HOLDS: Because none of Sauser’s stories about the events leading up to the shooting support a finding that she acted solely out of the required level of provocation, the district court did not err in refusing to instruct the jury on voluntary manslaughter. SPECIAL CONCURRENCE ASSERTS: Like the majority, I would affirm Sauser’s conviction.  But I would find the court erred in not instructing the jury on voluntary manslaughter.  Still, this instructional error is not cause for reversal.  Because they returned a guilty verdict on a higher charge, there is no prejudice for the failure to instruct on manslaughter. 

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