State of Iowa
v.
Brenna Folkers
Brenna Folkers seeks further review of the court of appeals decision affirming her conviction for child endangerment. The court found keeping marijuana and hash oil in the home where a toddler can access it creates a substantial risk to the child’s safety. Therefore, substantial evidence supported the appellant’s conviction. The appellant argues the State failed to present substantial evidence that she acted in a manner that created a substantial risk to her child’s physical, mental, or emotional health or safety, and no evidence was presented about when she smoked marijuana or hash in the residence or whether her child was present at the time. Additionally, she asserts there was no evidence presented that the child had access to these substances.
Resister
State of Iowa
Applicant
Brenna Folkers
Attorney for the Resister
Sharon K. Hall
Attorney for the Applicant
Maria Ruhtenberg
Supreme Court
Oral Argument Schedule
15-15-5
Mar 10, 2020 1:30 PM
Briefs
Supreme Court Opinion
Opinion Number:
Date Published:
Court of Appeals
Court of Appeals Opinion
Opinion Number:
Date Published:
Summary
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Black Hawk County, Brook K. Jacobsen, District Associate Judge. AFFIRMED. Considered by Potterfield, P.J., and Tabor and Greer, JJ. Opinion by Potterfield, P.J. (3 pages)
Brenna Folkers challenges the sufficiency of the evidence supporting her conviction of child endangerment following a trial to the bench. She maintains the State did not establish she knowingly acted in a manner that created a substantial risk to her son’s physical, mental, or emotional health or safety. OPINION HOLDS: Because keeping marijuana and hash oil in the home where a toddler can access it creates a substantial risk to the child’s safety, substantial evidence supports Folkers’s conviction. We affirm.