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Case No. 23-1185

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

State of Iowa
v.
Paul John Joseph Kramer

Appellee

State of Iowa

Appellant

Paul John Joseph Kramer

Attorney for the Appellee

Louis S. Sloven, Assistant Attorney General

Attorney for the Appellant

Francis Hurley

Court of Appeals

Court of Appeals Opinion

Opinion Number:
23-1185
Date Published:
Jul 24, 2024
Summary

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Dubuque County, Mark T. Hostager and Robert J. Richter, Judges.  AFFIRMED AND REMANDED.  Considered by Tabor, P.J., and Greer and Schumacher, JJ.  Opinion by Greer, J.  (8 pages)

            Paul Kramer challenges his conviction and sentence for driving while barred.  Kramer maintains (1) the district court should have sua sponte ordered a competency hearing; (2) the district court should not have allowed him to represent himself in the criminal proceedings; and (3) he should be resentenced because the district court relied on counterfactual reasons, like a guilty plea and the plea agreement, when giving the basis for the sentence imposed.  OPINION HOLDS: Because we find no legal error in allowing the trial to proceed without having a competency hearing or requiring a competency evaluation, nothing Kramer points to on appeal convinces us his waiver of his right to counsel was not knowing and voluntary, and there were no mistakes or issues with the sentencing hearing and the oral pronouncement of sentence, we affirm.  However, we remand for entry of a nunc pro tunc order to correct the clerical mistakes in the written sentencing order.  

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