John Anderson filed a motion for belated appeal more than five months after the district court entered an order denying his application for postconviction relief. The supreme court ordered the issue of whether to grant a delayed appeal to be submitted with the appeal. Mr. Anderson asserts he told his trial counsel he wished to appeal, counsel failed to do so, and counsel’s inaction resulted in a violation of his right to the effective assistance of counsel, which he argues was a violation of his procedural due process rights. In addition, he contends he has a substantive due process right to assert an actual-innocence claim to avoid undeserved punishment. Finally, Mr. Anderson argues the district court erred in finding letters allegedly showing he could not have committed the crime were given to a known defense witness and could have been discovered at the time of the criminal trial, and that they contained impeachment evidence rather than substantive evidence.

County:

Polk