Fernando Sandoval v. State of Iowa ( 2022 )

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF IOWA
No. 20–0396
Submitted February 22, 2022—Filed June 10, 2022
FERNANDO SANDOVAL,
Appellant,
vs.
STATE OF IOWA,
Appellee.
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Joseph Seidlin,
Judge.
Appellant appeals from the dismissal of his application for postconviction
relief as barred by the statute of limitations and challenges the constitutionality
of his sentence to life imprisonment. AFFIRMED.
McDonald, J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which Christensen,
C.J., and Waterman, Mansfield, Oxley, and McDermott, JJ., joined. Appel, J.,
filed an opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part.
Jessica Maffitt of Benzoni Law Office, P.L.C., Des Moines, for appellant.
Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, and Kyle Hanson, Assistant Attorney
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General, for appellee.
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McDONALD, Justice.
In February 2005, Fernando Sandoval was convicted of two counts of
first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder. He was sentenced to
serve concurrent terms of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for
the murder convictions and twenty-five years’ imprisonment for the attempted
murder convictions. Sandoval unsuccessfully challenged his convictions on
direct appeal and in three different applications for postconviction relief. This
appeal arises out of the dismissal of Sandoval’s fourth application for
postconviction relief, which the district court held was barred by the three-year
statute of limitations set forth in Iowa Code section 822.3 (2019). Sandoval
contends the district court erred in dismissing his fourth application for
postconviction relief. He also asserts a new claim on appeal. He contends that
because he was only nineteen at the time he murdered two people, his mandatory
life sentences without the possibility of parole violate the federal and state
constitutional prohibitions against “cruel and unusual punishment.” U.S. Const.
amend. VIII; Iowa Const. art. I, § 17.
I.
Generally, an application for postconviction relief “must be filed within
three years from the date the conviction or decision is final or, in the event of an
appeal, from the date the writ of procedendo is issued.” Iowa Code § 822.3. In
Allison v. State, this court held that a second application for postconviction relief
filed beyond the three-year-limitations period would relate back to the filing of
the first application and be considered timely if three conditions were met: (1) the
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first application was timely filed; (2) the second application alleged prior
postconviction counsel provided ineffective assistance in presenting the first
application; and (3) the second application was “filed promptly after the
conclusion of the first [postconviction relief] action.” 914 N.W.2d 866, 891 (Iowa
2018). Subsequently, the general assembly amended section 822.3 and
abrogated Allison. 2019 Iowa Acts ch. 140, § 34 (codified at Iowa Code § 822.3(2020)). Effective July 1, 2019, section 822.3 provides that “[a]n allegation of
ineffective assistance of counsel in a prior case under this chapter shall not toll
or extend the limitation periods in this section nor shall such claim relate back
to a prior filing to avoid the application of the limitation periods.” Id.Sandoval has repeatedly challenged his convictions since 2005. He
pursued a direct appeal after being sentenced, and the court of appeals affirmed
his convictions. State v. Sandoval, No. 05–0426, 2006 WL 3018152, at *6 (Iowa
Ct. App. Oct. 25, 2006). Procedendo issued on November 21, 2006. Sandoval
filed his first application for postconviction relief in June 2007. The application
was dismissed on the merits in December 2008, and this court dismissed the
appeal as frivolous. Sandoval filed two additional applications for postconviction
relief in May 2012 and January 2016, both of which were dismissed as
time-barred. The court of appeals affirmed both dismissals. See Sandoval v.
State, No. 16–1875, 2018 WL 2727690, at *2 (Iowa Ct. App. June 6, 2018);
Sandoval v. State, No. 14–0341, 2015 WL 1849404, at *2 (Iowa Ct. App. Apr. 22,
2015). And in April 2015, Sandoval filed a motion for new trial in the underlying
criminal case, which was denied.
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At issue in this case is Sandoval’s fourth application for postconviction
relief. Sandoval filed the application on July 8, 2019, after the effective date of
the amendments to Iowa Code section 822.3. In his application, Sandoval alleged
his trial counsel provided ineffective assistance in failing to investigate the
qualifications of Sandoval’s translator at trial, in failing to investigate the case,
and in failing to challenge questionable jury instructions. He further alleged that
his appellate counsel and first postconviction counsel provided ineffective
assistance in failing to raise these claims. The district court dismissed the
application as time-barred pursuant to section 822.3. The district court rejected
the contention that Allison provided Sandoval with relief. The district court
concluded that the amendment to section 822.3 abrogated Allison. In addition,
the district court concluded that Allison was not applicable because the
application for postconviction relief was Sandoval’s fourth, not his second, and
because Sandoval did not promptly file his fourth application after the
conclusion of the first postconviction relief action. Finally, the district court
rejected Sandoval’s contention that new evidence excused the otherwise
untimely application.
The district court did not err in concluding Sandoval’s fourth application
for postconviction relief was barred by the statute of limitations. With respect to
Sandoval’s direct appeal, procedendo issued on November 21, 2006. Sandoval’s
fourth application, filed in July 2019, is outside the three-year statute of
limitations. And Allison does not provide Sandoval with any relief. As the district
court correctly explained, Allison was abrogated by the amendment to
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section 822.3, effective July 1, 2019, and Sandoval filed his application on
July 8.
Sandoval contends the amendment abrogating Allison is not applicable
here because he mailed his fourth application for postconviction relief on
June 27, 2019, prior to the effective date of the amendment. Sandoval asserts
that under the “prison mailbox rule,” his application should be deemed filed on
the date he placed the application in the prison mail system. See, e.g., Moore v.
United States, 173 F.3d 1131, 1135 (8th Cir. 1999) (stating a filing “is deemed
timely filed when an inmate deposits the notice in the prison mail system prior
to the expiration of the filing deadline”). Iowa has not adopted the prison mailbox
rule, and we need not decide whether to do so here.
Even if Sandoval’s fourth application should be deemed filed on the date
he placed it in the prison mail system, Allison would still not provide him with
any relief. Allison held only that a second application for postconviction relief
could relate back to a timely filed first application. See 914 N.W.2d at 891. The
court of appeals repeatedly has reached the same conclusion. See, e.g., Dixon v.
State, No. 19–1886, 2021 WL 1907152, at *2 (Iowa Ct. App. May 12, 2021)
(collecting cases that hold Allison applies only to a second postconviction relief
application and not to third or subsequent applications). But this is Sandoval’s
fourth application. See Garcia v. State, No. 20–0883, 2022 WL 108561, at *3
(Iowa Ct. App. Jan. 12, 2022) (“Since this is [applicant’s] fourth PCR application,
Allison is inapplicable.”) In addition, Allison held a later-filed application only
related back if filed “promptly” after the conclusion of the first preceding. See
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Allison, 914 N.W.2d at 891. Sandoval’s first application for postconviction relief
was dismissed on December 31, 2008, and his appeal of that dismissal was
dismissed as frivolous in 2010. The dismissal of his second application was
affirmed on appeal in 2015, and the dismissal of his third application was
affirmed on appeal in 2018. Sandoval’s fourth application for postconviction
relief was not filed promptly after the conclusion of his first, second, or third
applications for postconviction relief. The court of appeals repeatedly has held
that a delay of more than six months is not prompt. See, e.g., Garcia, 2022 WL
108561, at *4 (“While ‘promptly’ is not defined in Allison, our court has
previously held that delays of ‘more than six months,’ ‘almost six months,’ and
even so little as one hundred twenty-one days are too long to meet the
promptness requirement of Allison.” (footnotes omitted)); Polk v. State, No. 18–
0309, 2019 WL 3945964, at *2 (Iowa Ct. App. Aug. 21, 2019) (six-month delay
in filing second postconviction relief application held not prompt). We agree.
Sandoval further contends constitutional principles of equal protection
and due process require that he be allowed to pursue his untimely fourth
application for postconviction relief notwithstanding the statute of limitations.
Sandoval failed to raise these issues in the district court, and the district court
did not rule on these constitutional challenges. These challenges are thus not
preserved for appellate review, and we will not consider them for the first time
on appeal. See Meier v. Senecaut, 641 N.W.2d 532, 537 (Iowa 2002) (“When a
district court fails to rule on an issue properly raised by a party, the party who
raised the issue must file a motion requesting a ruling in order to preserve error
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for appeal.”); State v. Webb, 516 N.W.2d 824, 828 (Iowa 1994) (“We may not
consider an issue that is raised for the first time on appeal, ‘even if it is of
constitutional dimension.’ ” (quoting Patchette v. State, 374 N.W.2d 397, 401
(Iowa 1985))).
II.
For the first time on appeal, Sandoval argues that his mandatory life
sentences without the possibility of parole are illegal because they constitute
cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth Amendment to the
United States Constitution and article I, section 17 of the Iowa Constitution.
“Where, as here, the claim is that the sentence itself is inherently illegal, whether
based on constitution or statute . . . the claim may be brought at any time.”
State v. Bruegger, 773 N.W.2d 862, 872 (Iowa 2009). This includes claims
brought for the first time on appeal. See id. at 870–72. We exercise our discretion
to address the merits of Sandoval’s challenge to his sentences.
“It is important to clarify the terminology of cruel and unusual punishment
jurisprudence.” State v. Oliver, 812 N.W.2d 636, 639 (Iowa 2012). The “lexicon
for [cruel and unusual punishment] analysis no longer includes the terms ‘facial
challenge’ and ‘as-applied challenge.’ ” Id. at 639–40. “Instead, the defendant
must challenge his sentence under the ‘categorical’ approach or make a ‘gross
proportionality challenge to [the] particular defendant’s sentence.’ ” Id. at 640(alteration in original) (quoting Graham v. Florida, 560 U.S. 48, 61 (2010)).
“Under the categorical approach, the question is whether a particular sentencing
practice violates the Eighth Amendment” or article I, section 17. Id. Under a gross
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proportionality approach, a defendant is allowed to challenge his sentence by
“emphasizing the specific facts of the case.” Id. at 648–49 (quoting Bruegger, 773
N.W.2d at 884).
It is not readily apparent whether Sandoval is asserting a gross
disproportionality challenge or categorical challenge to his sentences. On the one
hand, Sandoval asserts that his sentence was “grossly disproportionate due to
the gravity of the offense and the harshness of the sentence.” On the other hand,
Sandoval repeatedly asserts that his life sentences are inherently illegal. The
substance of his argument is that the “imposition of a mandatory minimum
sentence for a teenage offender is inherently grossly disproportionate.” This
appears to be more of a categorical challenge to a particular sentencing practice;
namely, the imposition of a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment without the
possibility of parole on teenage offenders. We thus treat Sandoval’s challenge as
a categorical challenge to the sentencing practice of imposing mandatory life
sentences without the possibility of parole on nonjuvenile teenage offenders
convicted of murder in the first degree.
Sandoval’s categorical challenge arises out of recent decisions of the
United States Supreme Court and this court creating categorical rules regarding
the sentencing of juvenile offenders. In Roper v. Simmons, the Supreme Court
held the “Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments forbid imposition of the death
penalty on offenders who were under the age of 18 when their crimes were
committed.” 543 U.S. 551, 578 (2005). In Graham v. Florida, the Court held the
Federal Constitution “prohibits the imposition of a life without parole sentence
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on a juvenile offender who did not commit homicide. A State need not guarantee
the offender eventual release, but if it imposes a sentence of life it must provide
him or her with some realistic opportunity to obtain release before the end of
that term.” 560 U.S. at 82. And in Miller v. Alabama, the Court held the Federal
Constitution prohibited juveniles convicted of a homicide offense from being
sentenced to a mandatory term of lifetime incarceration without the possibility
of parole. 567 U.S. 460, 489 (2012). Under federal law, before a court can impose
on a juvenile offender what would otherwise be a mandatory term of lifetime
incarceration without the possibility of parole, the court must first conduct an
individualized sentencing hearing considering five mitigating factors. Those
factors are
(1) the age of the offender and the features of youthful behavior, such
as “immaturity, impetuosity, and failure to appreciate risks and
consequences”; (2) the particular “family and home environment”
that surround the youth; (3) the circumstances of the particular
crime and all circumstances relating to youth that may have played
a role in the commission of the crime; (4) the challenges for youthful
offenders in navigating through the criminal process; and (5) the
possibility of rehabilitation and the capacity for change.
State v. Lyle, 854 N.W.2d 378, 404 n.10 (Iowa 2014) (quoting Miller, 567 U.S. at477–78).
This court subsequently applied and extended the Supreme Court’s
categorical rules regarding the sentencing of juvenile offenders. See State v.
Roby, 897 N.W.2d 127 (Iowa 2017); State v. Sweet, 879 N.W.2d 811 (Iowa 2016);
State v. Louisell, 865 N.W.2d 590 (Iowa 2015); State v. Seats, 865 N.W.2d 545(Iowa 2015); Lyle, 854 N.W.2d 378; State v. Ragland, 836 N.W.2d 107 (Iowa
2013); State v. Pearson, 836 N.W.2d 88 (Iowa 2013); State v. Null, 836 N.W.2d
1141 (Iowa 2013). Of particular relevance here is State v. Lyle, in which this court
held that “all mandatory minimum sentences of imprisonment for youthful
offenders are unconstitutional under the cruel and unusual punishment clause
in article I, section 17 of our constitution.” 854 N.W.2d at 400. Also of relevance
is State v. Sweet, which created “a categorical rule that juvenile offenders may
not be sentenced to life without the possibility of parole under article I,
section 17 of the Iowa Constitution.” 879 N.W.2d at 839.
While Sandoval recognizes that the precedents in this area involved the
creation of categorical rules relating only to the sentencing of offenders who were
juveniles at the time of the offense conduct, he argues the rationale underlying
the categorical rules is equally applicable to teenage adult offenders. We disagree
and conclude Sandoval is not entitled to relief on the federal or state
constitutional challenges to his sentence. In Dorsey v. State, filed today, we
rejected the same request to extend our juvenile sentencing jurisprudence to
adult offenders. __ N.W.2d __, __ (Iowa 2022). Our precedents in this area have
“no application to sentencing laws affecting adult offenders.” Id. at __ (quoting
Lyle, 854 N.W.2d at 403). This “bright-line constitutional distinction between
juvenile offenders and adult offenders for the purposes of article I, section 17 has
been clear from the outset.” Id. at ____. This bright line is “drawn in our law by
necessity and . . . incorporated into the jurisprudence we have developed to
usher the Iowa Constitution through time.” Id. at __ (quoting Lyle, 854 N.W.2d
at 403). For the same reasons, Sandoval’s claim under the Eighth Amendment
also fails. See, e.g., United States v. Marshall, 736 F.3d 492, 500 (6th Cir. 2013)
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(“Considerations of efficiency and certainty require a bright line separating
adults from juveniles. For purposes of the Eighth Amendment, an individual’s
eighteenth birthday marks that bright line.”); United States v. Rita, 80 M.J. 559,
561 (A.F. Ct. Crim. App. 2020) (“Considering Appellant was not a juvenile facing
confinement for life or an adult facing the death penalty, he falls outside the
established categories of mandatory minimum punishments which have been
found to violate the Eighth Amendment.”), review denied, 80 M.J. 363 (C.A.A.F.
2020).
III.
Sandoval was nineteen at the time he committed two murders in the first
degree. His concurrent mandatory sentences of lifetime incarceration without
the possibility of parole for committing these offenses are not categorically
prohibited by either the Federal Constitution or state constitution.
AFFIRMED.
All justices concur except Appel, J., who concurs in part and dissents in
part.
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#20–0396, Sandoval v. State
APPEL, Justice (concurring in part and dissenting in part).
In 2005, Sandoval was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder and
two counts of attempted murder. He was sentenced to life in prison without
possibility of parole for the murder convictions and twenty-five years
imprisonment on the attempted murder charges.
In this case, Sandoval claimed before the postconviction-relief court that
he was denied effective assistance of counsel at his 2005 trial and that because
he received ineffective assistance in subsequent postconviction-relief
proceedings, he can now bring an ineffective-assistance claim outside the three-
year statute of limitations established in Iowa Code section 822.3 under the
principles announced in State v. Allison, 914 N.W.2d 866 (Iowa 2018).
On appeal, Sandoval raises a new claim, challenging his sentence to life in
prison without possibility of parole as amounting to cruel and unusual
punishment under article I, section 17 of the Iowa Constitution.
I. Proper Disposition of Sandoval’s Postconviction-Relief Claim.
A. Allison-type Claim. The State raises a number of arguments to defeat
Sandoval’s Allison claim. First, the State argues that an Allison claim does not
exist beyond a challenge to the ineffectiveness of counsel in his first action for
postconviction relief. Second, the State argues that even if Allison might apply,
Sandoval did not file his current postconviction-relief action until almost a year
after Allison was decided. Such a filing, according to the State, cannot be
considered to have been made “promptly” after Allison opened the possibility of
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attacking serial ineffective-assistance claims. Third, the State argues that
Sandoval does not have a claim under Allison because his filing occurred on July
8, 2019, several days after the legislative override of the decision that took effect
on July 1, 2019. The State asserts that any effort to claim a June 27 filing date
as a result of the prison mailbox rule fails because Sandoval has failed to present
any evidence indicating the date the petition was placed in the hands of prison
officials.
The State is correct, of course, that Allison itself involved a challenge to
the ineffectiveness of trial counsel and first postconviction-relief counsel. It did
not expressly deal with the problem of successive filings. Nonetheless, I would
not categorically bar an Allison-type challenge for successive filings if the
defendant asserts that trial counsel was ineffective and each successive counsel
has been ineffective. In short, Allison-type principles apply where a defendant
alleges that his trial counsel was ineffective and claims all subsequent
postconviction-relief counsel have been ineffective in prosecuting that claim. If a
first postconviction lawyer abandons their client and permits dismissal for lack
of prosecution, and is followed by a second postconviction counsel who provides
similar nonperformance resulting in dismissal, should not equitable tolling apply
to a third postconviction action brought by competent counsel? Isn’t the harm
from successive ineffective assistance in postconviction relief the same in this
circumstance as in Allison?
A question arises here whether Sandoval has promptly filed his most
recent postconviction-relief action. As everyone recognizes, Sandoval could not
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file such a claim under Dible v. State, 557 N.W.2d 881, 886 (Iowa 1996) (en banc),
abrogated on other grounds by Harrington v. State, 659 N.W.2d 509 (Iowa 2003).
Thus, the earliest he could have filed his claim would have been June 29, 2018,
the date of the Allison decision. Sandoval filed his claim on June 27, 2019, about
a year after the Allison decision was announced. Is that “prompt” under Allison?
The notion of promptness depends upon the circumstances presented.
Here, Sandoval was not alerted to the need to file another postconviction-relief
petition by an adverse ruling in a case of his that would raise a red flag, but only
in a case involving a stranger. Because of this factor, and because of his limited
ability to interact with the legal system due to his incarceration, a case can be
made that Sandoval is entitled to some play in the joints on the issue of
promptness.
But the dispositive question here is whether Allison applied to Sandoval in
light of legislative action that all parties agree was designed to overrule Allison.
See 2019 Iowa Acts ch. 140, § 34 (codified at Iowa Code § 822.3 (2020)). The
statute took effect on July 1, 2019. Sandoval’s petition in this case was filed on
July 8, 2019. If July 8 is the date of filing, then the repeal of Allison by the
legislature would apply to Sandoval’s case, and he would not have an Allison-type
claim.
The State sought dismissal of Sandoval’s Allison claim on this ground.
Sandoval’s counsel did not file a resistance. At the hearing on the State’s motion
to dismiss, the attorney for Sandoval stated that Sandoval’s postconviction-relief
petition was filed on July 8. Sandoval’s postconviction-relief counsel did not
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mention the prison mailbox rule that was embraced by the United States
Supreme Court in Houston v. Lack, 487 U.S. 266, 270 (1988), and adopted in
numerous state jurisdictions. See, e.g., State v. Rosario, 987 P.2d 226, 228 (Ariz.
App. 1999) (“A pro se prisoner is not in a position to make sure that his notice of
appeal is timely filed. He cannot personally file the notice with the clerk of the
court nor can he directly place the notice in the hands of the United States Postal
Service.”); Sykes v. State, 757 So. 2d 997, 1000–01 (Miss. 2000) (en banc)
(adopting the Houston prison mailbox rule); Woody v. State, 833 P.2d 257, 260
(Okla. 1992) (applying the Houston prison mailbox rule, noting that “a rule other
than the mailbox rule for incarcerated pro se prisoners would interject a degree
of arbitrariness which could sabotage equal protection and equal access to the
courts”). But see Carr v. State, 554 A.2d 778, 779–80 (Del. 1989) (per curiam)
(rejecting the Houston prison mailbox rule). The district court entered its order
dismissing the petition in part because of the overruling of Allison by the
legislature.
Then, in a 1.904 motion, Sandoval’s counsel for the first time raised the
prison mailbox rule. See Iowa R. Civ. P. § 1.904(2). Counsel asserted in its brief
that Sandoval “mailed the documents to the court on June 27, 2019 by placing
them in the prison mailbox timely and in good faith, and paid extra for a
signature guarantee card to preserve his mailing date.” No affidavit or evidentiary
support was attached.
Ordinarily, we have held that a 1.904 motion is not designed to raise new
issues but only to alert the district court to rule upon an issue previously
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presented to the court. Winger Contracting Co. v. Cargill, Inc., 926 N.W.2d 526,
543 (Iowa 2019) (reiterating a motion under the precursor to rule 1.904(2) is not
a vehicle for a wholly new argument and cannot be a replacement of the
requirement to preserve error). The record shows that Sandoval’s lawyer did not
raise the issue in any pleading or at the hearing on the motion to dismiss. In
Homan v. Branstad, we stated that a 1.904 motion that asks the district court to
amend or enlarge its ruling “based solely on new evidence is generally improper.”
887 N.W.2d 153, 161 (Iowa 2016); see also McKee v. Isle of Capri Casinos, Inc.,
864 N.W.2d 518, 525 (Iowa 2015) (“Generally speaking, a party cannot use a rule
1.904(2) motion to introduce new evidence.”). So even if an affidavit or some other
evidence had been presented, it would not have been proper under our caselaw.
Under the circumstances, Sandoval’s prison mailbox claim was not preserved.
And because of that, Allison is not applicable.
B. Due Process and Equal Protection Arguments. Sandoval also raises
due process and equal protection claims on appeal. The State argues that these
claims are not preserved. The State is correct that Sandoval’s lawyer did not
preserve the due process and equal protection claims in the district court. As
noted, postconviction-relief counsel did not file a written resistance to the motion
to dismiss. And, at the hearing, Sandoval’s counsel simply stated, “I don’t believe
that the amendments to the post-conviction relief statute are constitutional
under the Iowa constitution.” We have generally held that a mere assertion of
“unconstitutionality” does not preserve a claim. State v. Hernandez-Lopez, 639
N.W.2d 226, 234 (Iowa 2002). And we have recently stated that “A party cannot
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preserve error for appeal by making only general reference to a constitutional
provision in the district court and then seeking to develop the argument on
appeal.” Taft v. Iowa District Court, 828 N.W.2d 309, 322–23 (Iowa 2013).
Further, Sandoval made no effort to seek an expanded ruling under rule 1.904.
Meier v. Senecaut, 641 N.W.2d 532, 537 (Iowa 2002) (holding that in order to
preserve error on appeal where the trial court fails to rule, a motion requesting
a ruling is required to preserve error).
In a reply brief, Sandoval asserts that the ordinary issue preservation rules
do not apply to claims of ineffective assistance of counsel. But in Sandoval’s main
brief, no claim was made that current trial counsel was ineffective for failure to
develop the constitutional claims or failing to obtain a rule 1.904 ruling. Here,
Sandoval for the first time is raising ineffective assistance in his reply brief. But
we have held that new issues cannot be raised on appeal for the first time in a
reply brief. Hills Bank & Tr. Co. v. Converse, 772 N.W.2d 764, 770–71 (Iowa
2009). Exceptions to this rule are not present here. Villa Magana v State, 908
N.W.2d 255, 259–260 (Iowa 2018) (per curiam) (exceptions include challenge to
illegal sentence and structural error where an argument was presented for the
first time in a reply brief but the State had addressed the argument in its brief).
II. Cruel and Unusual Punishment.
The second issue in this case, as I see it, is whether Sandoval is entitled
to a hearing in district court on the question of whether his sentence to life
without possibility of parole for crimes committed when he was nineteen
amounts to cruel and unusual punishment. For the reasons expressed in Dorsey
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v. State, ___N.W.2d ___, ___ (Iowa 2022) (Appel, J., dissenting), I would remand
this matter to the district court for a hearing on the issue.