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Case No. 23-1170

State of Iowa
v.
Carlton Douglas Jr.

Appellee

State of Iowa

Appellant

Carlton Douglas Jr.

Attorney for the Appellee

Kevin Cmelik, Assistant Attorney General

Attorney for the Appellant

Alfredo Parrish

Court of Appeals

Court of Appeals Opinion

Opinion Number:
23-1170
Date Published:
Oct 30, 2024
Summary

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Clinton County, John Telleen and Patrick A. McElyea, Judges.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Tabor, C.J., and Greer and Schumacher, JJ.  Opinion by Tabor, C.J.  Telleen, S.J., takes no part. (5 pages)

            Carlton Douglas appeals his convictions for first-degree murder and possession of a firearm as a felon.  He alleges that two jury instructions misstated the law on self-defense and the two charges should have been severed for trial.  He also urges that his appeal is a candidate for plain-error review.  OPINION HOLDS: Douglas’s trial counsel did not preserve error on either issue.  And we can no longer consider claims of ineffective assistance of counsel on direct appeal.  Finally, we cannot overrule supreme court precedent to adopt plain-error review.  So, we affirm.

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