Robert G. Allbee

The case involved Cheryl Grout's postconviction challenge to her guilty plea to first-degree robbery, arguing that the plea was involuntary because she was not informed before pleading about a statutory requirement under section 906.5 that she serve at least half her sentence without parole eligibility due to a prior forcible felony conviction. The Iowa Supreme Court affirmed the denial of relief, holding that state precedent in Boge v. State did not require disclosure of the parole limitation during plea proceedings and that the federal due process clause likewise imposed no such obligation. The court reasoned that federal Rule 11, as amended, requires only advice on mandatory minimum and maximum penalties, not details on parole eligibility or release dates. Issues regarding affirmative misleading by the court or counsel were not considered because they were raised for the first time on appeal.

criminal lawprocedure

The case Weitl v. Moes arose from medical negligence at a hospital that caused permanent brain damage and blindness to Linda Weitl and resulted in the stillbirth of her near-term fetus. Plaintiffs included claims by Linda's minor children for loss of parental society and companionship, and by the fetus's estate for wrongful death. The Iowa Supreme Court reinstated the children's independent cause of action for loss of parental consortium, finding it cognizable under Iowa law, while affirming dismissal of the wrongful death claim because a stillborn fetus is not recognized as a person entitled to such recovery.

torts & liabilityfamily law

This case involves a custody dispute between unwed parents over their child born in 1977. Following a paternity action initiated by the mother that resulted in a default judgment awarding her custody, the father petitioned to modify the judgment on grounds that custody had not been properly noticed or litigated, violating due process. The trial court awarded custody to the father after consolidating the matter with a related dissolution action, and the Iowa Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the paternity judgment's custody provision was irregular and that the evidence on the child's best interests supported placement with the father based on factors including stability, parental involvement, and living arrangements.

family lawprocedure

The case involved Dale Eugene Cosgrove's petition for postconviction relief after pleading guilty to aggravated robbery, claiming his court-appointed attorney provided ineffective assistance due to a conflict of interest from also briefly representing Curtis Steele, a witness whose statements implicated Cosgrove in the crime. The postconviction court denied relief, finding no dual representation occurred and no substantial possibility of conflict. The Iowa Supreme Court affirmed, holding that dual representation requires jointly charged codefendants and that Cosgrove and Steele were not such codefendants, while any potential conflict did not violate Cosgrove's constitutional right to counsel under the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments or the Iowa Constitution. The court reasoned that the attorney-client relationships were sequential and limited, with no evidence that the representation of Steele adversely affected Cosgrove's interests or plea decision.

criminal lawprocedure

This case involved a grievance proceeding initiated by the Iowa State Bar Association's Committee on Professional Ethics and Conduct against attorney Allan J. Bergren, based on his involuntary commitment for alcoholism and subsequent failure to adhere to a court-approved treatment program. The court found that Bergren had resumed consuming alcohol, was frequently intoxicated, pleaded guilty to public intoxication, and neglected his law practice to the detriment of clients. Applying precedents on attorney discipline, the court determined by a convincing preponderance of the evidence that Bergren was an alcoholic whose condition impaired his ability to practice. It therefore suspended his license to practice law in Iowa indefinitely, with reinstatement not permitted sooner than one year from the decision date, subject to conditions including compliance with notification rules and proof of future control over the alcoholism.

criminal lawprocedurebusiness & regulatory

The case involved defendant Morton S. Fingert's jury conviction for evading state income taxes in 1973 and 1974 under Iowa Code section 422.25(8), where the State used a T-account method to reconstruct income and demonstrate that commodity trading losses exceeded reported earnings. On appeal, Fingert challenged the admission of commodity brokerage account records and related testimony as inadmissible hearsay, violations of the best evidence rule, insufficient foundation under the regularly kept records exception of section 622.28, and other claims including prosecutorial misconduct warranting a mistrial. The court analyzed whether the records qualified as adoptive admissions or business records, rejected the adoptive admission theory due to lack of affirmative adoption by the defendant, and examined the statutory foundational requirements and provisions for reproduced documents while addressing error preservation.

criminal lawtaxesprocedure