State of Iowa
v.
Jesus Isai Diaz
Appellee
State of Iowa
Appellant
Jesus Isai Diaz
Attorney for the Appellee
Joshua Henry (argued), Assistant Attorney General
Attorney for the Appellant
Shellie L. Knipfer (argued), Assistant Appellate Defender
Court of Appeals
Court of Appeals Opinion
Opinion Number:
Date Published:
Summary
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Ida County, Tod Deck, Judge. AFFIRMED. Heard at oral argument by Tabor, C.J., and Ahlers and Langholz, JJ. Opinion by Ahlers, J. (14 pages)
Jesus Diaz challenges the sufficiency of the evidence supporting his conviction for second-degree murder. He also challenges a jury instruction permitting jurors to infer malice from his use of a dangerous weapon. Finally, he contends the district court improperly denied his motions for mistrial. OPINION HOLDS: Substantial evidence supports Diaz’s conviction for second-degree murder. Diaz failed to preserve error on his jury-instruction challenge. As to the challenges to the rulings on his mistrial motions, Diaz failed to preserve error on one. As to the two preserved challenges, the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying the mistrial motions. We affirm accordingly.
