State of Iowa v. Christopher R. Martin ( 2015 )

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF IOWA
No. 14-1114
Filed April 22, 2015
STATE OF IOWA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
vs.
CHRISTOPHER R. MARTIN,
Defendant-Appellant.
________________________________________________________________
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Scott County, Marlita A. Greve,
Judge.
A defendant appeals the district court’s dismissal of his motion to correct
an illegal sentence and application for appointment of counsel. AFFIRMED.
Mark C. Smith, State Appellate Defender, and Robert P. Ranschau,
Assistant Appellate Defender, for appellant.
Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, Mary A. Triick, Assistant Attorney
General, Michael Walton, County Attorney, and Jerald Feuerbach, Assistant
County Attorney, for appellee.
Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Tabor and Mullins, JJ.
2
VAITHESWARAN, P.J.
Christopher Martin pled guilty to second-degree theft and second-degree
robbery. The district court imposed sentence, ordering his Iowa sentences to be
served consecutively and also ordering them to run concurrently with a sentence
imposed on a separate crime in Illinois. The court later clarified Martin should
receive credit for time served in Illinois.
Five years later, Martin filed a motion to correct illegal sentence. He
asserted (1) the district court lacked “authority or jurisdiction of the case”
because of a statute of limitations violation and (2) he understood his plea
agreement would allow “all of his Illinois and Iowa prison time” to run
concurrently. Martin simultaneously filed an application for appointment of
counsel. The district court summarily denied the motions, reasoning the issues
raised in the motion to correct illegal sentence were “previously dealt with.”
On appeal, Martin asserts the district court “erroneously denied [him] the
right to counsel on his motion for correction of an illegal sentence.” He cites the
United States and Iowa Constitutions as well as Iowa Rule of Criminal Procedure
2.28(1).
To be an “illegal” sentence, “the sentence must be one not authorized by
statute.” Tindell v. State, 629 N.W.2d 357, 359 (Iowa 2001). Martin’s motion
was not truly a motion to correct an illegal sentence. The motion raised a statute
of limitations concern and a concern about his understanding of and reliance on
the plea agreement. Neither implicates the legality of the sentence. See State v.
Wilson, 294 N.W.2d 824, 825 (Iowa 1980) (suggesting rule on correction of illegal
sentences “is directed to excision of sentences insofar as they were beyond the
3
jurisdiction of the court and therefore void”). Because the issues Martin raised
could not be described as a challenge to the legality of the sentence, we need
not address the question of whether a right to counsel attaches to a motion to
correct an illegal sentence. See State v. Trueblood, No. 13-0687, 2014 WL
636167, at *2 (Iowa Ct. App. Feb. 19, 2014).
We affirm the district court’s summary dismissal of Martin’s motion to
correct illegal sentence.
AFFIRMED.