For summaries from opinions prior to August, 2018, view PDF versions here.
State of Iowa
v.
Christopher A. Puccio
Appellee
State of Iowa
Appellant
Christopher A. Puccio
Attorney for the Appellee
Zachary Miller, Assistant Attorney General
Attorney for the Appellant
Stephan J. Japuntich, Assistant Appellate Defender
Court of Appeals
Court of Appeals Opinion
Opinion Number:
Date Published:
Summary
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Dubuque County, Robert J. Richter, District Associate Judge. AFFIRMED. Considered by Doyle, P.J., and Tabor and Schumacher, JJ. Opinion by Tabor, J. (9 pages)
Christopher Puccio appeals his conviction for attempted burglary. He contends his trial counsel was ineffective in not asking for three jury instructions: (1) a lesser-included-offense instruction on criminal trespass; (2) an instruction on prior inconsistent witness statements; and (3) an instruction on how to evaluate eyewitness identification testimony. OPINION HOLDS: We reject the first and second ineffective-assistance claims because those instructions did not apply to Puccio’s prosecution. As to the third claim, better development of the record is needed to decide whether counsel was ineffective for not ensuring the jury had information about the fallibility of eyewitness identification. So we preserve that claim for Puccio to raise if he seeks postconviction relief.
