State of Iowa
v.
Hope Jennifer Clark
Hope Jennifer Clark seeks further review of the court of appeals opinion affirming her conviction of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated. The court of appeals determined that there was sufficient evidence to support her conviction, the district court did not err in allowing the State to introduce evidence of a dispatcher’s report of a reckless driver, and the district court properly denied her motion to suppress evidence regarding her refusal to submit to testing because she was not denied her statutory right to contact her attorney after reaching the jail. Clark seeks further review.
Resister
State of Iowa
Applicant
Hope Jennifer Clark
Attorney for the Resister
Joshua A. Duden
Attorney for the Applicant
Kent A. Simmons
Supreme Court
Oral Argument Schedule
15-15-5
Mar 26, 2025 9:00 AM
Briefs
Supreme Court Opinion
Opinion Number:
Date Published:
Court of Appeals
Court of Appeals Opinion
Opinion Number:
Date Published:
Summary
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Des Moines County, Emily Dean, Judge. AFFIRMED. Considered by Ahlers, P.J., and Chicchelly and Buller, JJ. Opinion by Ahlers, P.J. (13 pages)
Hope Clark appeals her conviction for operating while intoxicated. She challenges the sufficiency of the evidence, the district court’s denial of her motion to suppress, and the district court’s admission of evidence she claims is hearsay not subject to an exception. OPINION HOLDS: Clark’s conviction is supported by substantial evidence. The district court did not err in denying Clark’s motion to suppress. The evidence Clark claims is hearsay did not amount to hearsay because it was admitted to explain officers’ responsive conduct rather than for the truth of the matter asserted. Even if the evidence went beyond the explaining responsive conduct, Clark failed to object to the evidence as going beyond the permissive scope. Moreover, the State established that even if the evidence was improperly admitted for the truth of the matter asserted, it did not result in prejudice.