For summaries from opinions prior to August, 2018, view PDF versions here.
State of Iowa
v.
Elisha M. Mischke
Appellee
State of Iowa
Appellant
Elisha M. Mischke
Attorney for the Appellee
Timothy M. Hau, Assistant Attorney General
Attorney for the Appellant
Vidhya K. Reddy, Assistant Appellate Defender
Court of Appeals
Court of Appeals Opinion
Opinion Number:
Date Published:
Summary
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Lawrence P. McLellan, Judge. AFFIRMED. Considered by Bower, C.J., Greer, J., and Potterfield, S.J. Opinion by Potterfield, S.J. (16 pages)
Elisha Mischke was charged by trial information with ongoing criminal conduct. The trial information alleged that Mischke and two others, “individually, or by joint criminal conduct, or by aiding and abetting another” “commit[ted] multiple acts of residential burglaries, vehicle burglaries, vehicle theft, credit card fraud, identity theft, operating a motor vehicle without owner’s consent, and possession of stolen property.” As part of a plea agreement in which other charges and other criminal cases were dismissed, Mischke pled guilty to the class “B” felony. She was given a suspended, thirty-five year sentence and later ordered to pay $22,822.13 in restitution based on eleven separate claims. On appeal, Mischke challenges the ordered restitution. First, she argues the district court erred in approving supplemental restitution requests that were untimely made. And second, she maintains the State failed to prove a causal connection between her criminal conduct and the restitution ordered. OPINION HOLDS: Mischke has good cause to challenge the restitution she was ordered to pay as part of her sentence. The thirty-day requirement to request restitution is directory, not mandatory, and Mischke did not establish she was prejudiced by the delayed restitution request. We do not reach Mischke’s challenge to the causal connection between the restitution ordered and her criminal acts, except her challenge to the missing bicycle, which we find is causally related. We affirm the ordered restitution of $22,822.13 based on eleven separate claims.
