Des Moines, February 12, 2015— On Tuesday, February 24, the Iowa Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments at the Des Moines Area Community College Boone Campus Auditorium, 1125 Hancock Drive, Boone, Iowa.
Beginning at 2:30 p.m., three-member panels of Iowa Court of Appeals Judges will hear the oral arguments in two cases. The panel for the first case is Chief Judge David Danilson, Judge Amanda Potterfield, and Judge Thomas Bower. The panel for the second case is Judge Potterfield, Judge Mary Tabor, and Judge Bower. The two cases are:
The Polk County case, State v. Tyler:
Defendant, Kent Tyler, appeals from his conviction, following a jury trial, of second-degree murder. Tyler originally was charged, along with two codefendants, with first-degree murder: individually, by joint criminal conduct, or by aiding and abetting. His trial was severed from his codefendants. He contends his conviction must be reversed (1) because there is insufficient evidence on all of the alternatives of the general verdict; (2) because the trial court allowed prejudicial, irrelevant, and improper speculative testimony; and (3) because the trial court erred in instructing the jury on aiding and abetting and on joint criminal conduct.
The Boone County case, State v. Sellers:
Defendant, Victoria Sellers, appeals from her conviction of operating while intoxicated, first offense. Sellers claims the trial court erred in denying her motion to suppress the warrantless search of her vehicle because (1) police had not reasonable suspicion of criminal activity to justify the search when her car was stopped lawfully on the shoulder of the highway, and (2) the seizure was not justified by the "community caretaking" police function. Seller also claims, even if the seizure was justified as a community caretaking function, Iowa's constitution provides greater protection against unreasonable searches and seizures than the federal constitution, and the seizure violates Article 1, Section 8 of the Iowa Constitution.
The oral arguments are open to the public.
The Iowa Court of Appeals is an intermediate appellate court. It reviews appeals from trial court decisions that the supreme court has transferred to the court of appeals. A decision of the Iowa Court of Appeals is final unless reviewed by the Iowa Supreme Court on grant of further review. The majority of appeals filed in Iowa are decided by the court of appeals.
As an appellate court, the Iowa Court of Appeals does not preside over trials. Court of appeals proceedings do not involve witnesses, juries, new evidence, or court reporters. Instead, the court reviews the written record of the trial court to determine whether any significant legal errors occurred.
The court of appeals decides cases with randomly selected panels that change in composition every three months. Cases are assigned for opinion writing randomly in equal numbers to each judge on the court. Each judge on the court authors about 120 opinions per year. This figure does not include dissents and special concurrences each judge might write. In addition, each judge reviews cases decided by the other panels of the court.
Note to News Media
News media are invited to attend the oral arguments. Court rules apply regarding still camera, video camera, and audio recording devices used during the oral arguments. Information on expanded media coverage is available on the Iowa Judicial Branch Website.
The Iowa Court Rules regarding cameras and other electronic devices in the courtroom is on the Iowa Legislature website (PDF).
For more information about the Iowa Court of Appeals and the Iowa Judicial Branch, visit the judicial branch website.
For More Information:
Daniel Marvin, (515) 281-8052
Iowa Supreme Court
1111 East Court Avenue
Des Moines, IA 50319
515-281-3952