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State of Iowa
v.
James Russell Walden Jr.
Appellee
State of Iowa
Appellant
James Russell Walden Jr.
Attorney for the Appellee
Darrel Mullins, Assistant Attorney General
Attorney for the Appellant
Randall L. Jackson
Court of Appeals
Court of Appeals Opinion
Opinion Number:
Date Published:
Summary
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Robert J. Blink, Judge. AFFIRMED. Heard by Doyle, P.J., and Tabor and Schumacher, JJ. Opinion by Tabor, J. (21 pages)
James Walden Jr. appeals from his conviction for first-degree murder challenging an evidentiary ruling, a jury instruction, the sufficiency of the evidence, the weight of the evidence, and ineffectiveness of trial counsel. OPINION HOLDS: We find the district court did not err in crafting an appropriate remedy when excluded evidence of sexual assault entered the record. The court’s instruction was supported by the evidence, and the district court did not err in delivering it. There was sufficient evidence to support the verdict, and it was not against the weight of the evidence. Finally, we preserve the ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claim for a possible postconviction-relief proceeding. We affirm.