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Case No. 17-1757

For summaries from opinions prior to August, 2018, view PDF versions here

State of Iowa
v.
Derek Christopher Mills

Appellee

State of Iowa

Appellant

Derek Christopher Mills

Attorney for the Appellee

Louis S. Sloven, Assistant Attorney General

Attorney for the Appellant

Susan R. Stockdale

Court of Appeals

Court of Appeals Opinion

Opinion Number:
17-1757
Date Published:
Aug 15, 2018
Summary

           Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Warren County, Kevin A. Parker, District Associate Judge.  REVERSED AND REMANDED.  Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Potterfield and Tabor, JJ.  Opinion by Tabor, J. (13 pages)

Derek Mills appeals his conviction for criminal mischief in the fourth degree.  He argues the district court erred in allowing five prosecution exhibits into evidence over his authentication and hearsay objections.  Alternatively, he argues he received ineffective assistance of counsel when his attorney failed to object to other evidence the State offered.  OPINION HOLDS: Because three of the challenged exhibits were improperly admitted, and their admission was not harmless, we reverse the conviction and remand for a new trial.  We do not reach Mills’s claims concerning effectiveness of trial counsel.

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