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Robert Edward Sinn
v.
State of Iowa
Appellant
Robert Edward Sinn
Appellee
State of Iowa
Attorney for the Appellant
Thomas Hurd
Attorney for the Appellee
Zachary Miller, Assistant Attorney General
Court of Appeals
Court of Appeals Opinion
Opinion Number:
Date Published:
Summary
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Henry County, John M. Wright, Judge. AFFIRMED. Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., Greer and Schumacher, JJ. Opinion by Greer, J. Special Concurrence by Vaitheswaran, P.J. (11 pages)
Robert Sinn appeals the denial of postconviction relief following a conviction of sexual abuse in the third degree. He maintains his trial counsel provided ineffective assistance of counsel by not moving for suppression based on lack of Miranda warnings. OPINION HOLDS: Sinn was not entitled to Miranda warnings in his conversations with officers before arrest because he was not in custody at the time, and so a suppression challenge would have been meritless. Counsel did not breach an essential duty. We affirm the district court’s dismissal of Sinn’s claim for postconviction relief. SPECIAL CONCURRENCE ASSERTS: An assistant police chief testified a deputy told him Sinn “was a suspect of his” and “to stay with [Sinn] until he got there.” The police chief’s testimony supports a determination that Sinn was in custody. But even if counsel had a duty to file a suppression motion, I would find an absence of Strickland prejudice. Accordingly, I too, would affirm the denial of Sinn’s postconviction-relief application.
