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Case No. 21-1063

State of Iowa
v.
David Joel Sexton Hatfield

Appellee

State of Iowa

Appellant

David Joel Sexton Hatfield

Attorney for the Appellee

Darrell Mullins and Sharon K. Hall (until withdrawal), Assistant Attorneys General

Attorney for the Appellant

Theresa J. Seeberger

Court of Appeals

Court of Appeals Opinion

Opinion Number:
21-1063
Date Published:
Aug 31, 2022
Summary

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Muscatine County, Thomas G. Reidel, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Bower, C.J., Tabor, J., and Mullins, S.J.  Opinion by Bower, C.J.  (6 pages)

            David Hatfield appeals his conviction for first-degree murder, in violation of Iowa Code section 707.2(1)(a) (2019).  He contends his trial counsel was ineffective in failing to object to the prosecutor’s closing statements and the trial court erred in overruling his hearsay objection to the decedent’s mother’s testimony about her daughter’s previous suicide attempt.  OPINION HOLDS: We have no authority to consider a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel on direct appeal.  The trial court did not err in allowing the statement as one of “then-existing state of mind.”  We affirm.

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