State of Iowa
v.
Alan James Kuuttila
Alan James Kuuttila seeks further review of the court of appeals opinion affirming his conviction for possession of cannabidiol, possession of methamphetamine, and possession of marijuana, in violation of Iowa Code section 124.401(5)(2017). The court of appeals also vacated the portion of the sentencing order assessing the costs of the dismissed charge to the defendant and remanded for the district court to correct the written judgment entry, and vacated the restitution order and remanded the matter to the trial court to consider his claims of error in the restitution award pursuant to State v. Albright, 925 N.W.2d 144, 159 (Iowa 2019) and the supreme court’s July 7, 2020 supervisory order. Kuuttila argues that the detective’s “trash rip” violated his federal and state constitutional rights to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures and if the trash rip was constitutional, the affidavit supporting the search warrant application did not provide probable cause to search Kuuttila’s apartment. He further argues the court should grant further review to clarify whether the amendments to the restitution statutes should be applied to pending appeals and to consider whether the amendments are constitutional.
Resister
State of Iowa
Applicant
Alan James Kuuttila
Attorney for the Resister
Louis S. Sloven
Attorney for the Applicant
Melinda J. Nye
Supreme Court
Oral Argument Schedule
Non-Oral
Sep 15, 2021 9:00 AM
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 Story County, Steven P. Van Marel and James B. Malloy, District Associate Judges. CONVICTIONS AFFIRMED, SENTENCE VACATED IN PART, AND CASE REMANDED WITH DIRECTIONS. Considered by Tabor, P.J., May, J., and Carr, S.J. Opinion by Carr, S.J. (6 pages)
Alan Kuuttila appeals his convictions and sentences for three charges of possession of a controlled substance. OPINION HOLDS: There is no compelling reason to overrule the line of cases holding a person has no reasonable expectation to privacy with regard to the contents of garbage left for collection. Because items found in the trash outside Kuuttila’s residence significantly corroborated information that Kuuttila was selling drugs from his apartment and provided probable cause to support a search warrant, we affirm the order denying Kuuttila’s motion to suppress evidence. We affirm Kuuttila’s convictions but vacate the sentencing order to the extent it contained a clerical error and determined Kuuttila’s ability to pay undetermined amounts of restitution and remand to the district court for further proceedings.