Thomas Duane Morris v. State of Iowa ( 2019 )


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  •                     IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF IOWA
    No. 18-0182
    Filed April 17, 2019
    THOMAS DUANE MORRIS,
    Applicant-Appellant,
    vs.
    STATE OF IOWA,
    Respondent-Appellee.
    ________________________________________________________________
    Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Henry County, Mark Kruse, Judge.
    An applicant convicted of second-degree theft appeals the denial of his
    application for postconviction relief. AFFIRMED.
    Jeffrey L. Powell of Powell and McCullough, PLC, Coralville, for appellant.
    Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, and Martha E. Trout, Assistant Attorney
    General, for appellee State.
    Considered by Potterfield, P.J., and Tabor and Bower, JJ.
    2
    TABOR, Judge.
    The Henry County Attorney charged Thomas Morris with stealing three
    cars, burglarizing two other cars, and taking a navigation system during the
    summer of 2014. After his public defender negotiated a plea agreement, Morris
    pleaded guilty to one count of theft in the second degree. Represented by retained
    counsel at sentencing, Morris received an indeterminate five-year suspended
    prison term. He did not file a direct appeal. But after the district court revoked his
    probation in 2015, Morris filed an application for postconviction relief (PCR),
    challenging counsel’s performance. The district court denied relief. Morris appeals
    that denial, alleging he was prejudiced by “two separate attorneys’ failure to follow
    his wishes regarding withdrawal of his guilty plea.”
    Because Morris fails to meet his burden to show a breach of duty by his
    attorneys in the guilty-plea process, we affirm the PCR denial.
    I.     Facts and Prior Proceedings
    At his plea hearing in November 2014, Morris admitted taking possession
    of a 2000 Ford Contour, valued at more than $1000 but not more than $10,000,
    with the intent to permanently deprive the owner of that vehicle. His plea to one
    count of second-degree theft was part of a comprehensive bargain. In exchange
    for his guilty plea, the parties agreed to a five-year prison sentence and the
    dismissal of two additional second-degree theft counts, one fourth-degree theft
    count, and two counts of third-degree burglary. The State also agreed to dismiss
    an unrelated felony drug charge.
    Before sentencing, Morris retained attorney Frank Santiago, and his public
    defender, Djalal Arbabha, withdrew. Notwithstanding terms of the plea agreement,
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    at the January 2015 hearing, attorney Santiago urged the district court to grant
    Morris a suspended sentence.          The court asked if Morris understood the
    “ramifications” of not abiding by the plea deal. The defense confirmed the State
    would go forward with prosecuting the felony drug charge but would still dismiss
    the remaining counts. The district court imposed a prison term not to exceed five
    years, suspended the sentence, and placed Morris on probation for five years.
    Morris did not appeal the conviction or sentence.
    In June 2015, Morris’s probation officer filed a report alleging several
    violations, including possession of contraband and commission of theft. Based on
    that report, the district court revoked Morris’s probation and imposed the previously
    suspended five-year sentence.
    In February 2016, Morris filed a PCR application, which alleged counsel
    was ineffective for failing to file a motion in arrest of judgment challenging the
    factual basis for Morris’s guilty plea to second-degree theft. During the district
    court’s hearing on the application, Morris testified by deposition, and both attorney
    Arbabha and attorney Santiago testified in person. Morris alleged he didn’t fully
    understand the elements of the theft charge. Morris testified before he hired
    attorney Santiago, he asked attorney Arbabha to move to withdraw the guilty plea.
    Morris maintained Arbabha said he would draft a motion but failed to follow
    through. Attorney Arbabha testified if Morris had insisted on filing a motion in arrest
    of judgment to challenge the guilty plea, he would have done so. Attorney Santiago
    likewise testified Morris did not express an interest in filing a motion in arrest of
    judgment before sentencing.
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    In rejecting the PCR application, the district court found Morris’s testimony
    to be unbelievable.    The court concluded Morris’s claim “two lawyers simply
    ignored a request to file the motion or otherwise [was] unsupported by sufficient
    evidence.” Morris now appeals the denial of his PCR application.
    II.    Scope and Standards of Review
    We generally review PCR proceedings for correction of legal error.
    Lamasters v. State, 
    821 N.W.2d 856
    , 862 (Iowa 2012). But when the application
    alleges ineffective assistance of counsel, we review the issues de novo. Allison v.
    State, 
    914 N.W.2d 866
    , 870 (Iowa 2018). We give weight to the district court’s
    witness credibility findings. Ledezma v. State, 
    626 N.W.2d 134
    , 141 (Iowa 2001).
    III.   Analysis
    As the PCR applicant, Morris must show, by a preponderance of the
    evidence, trial counsel breached an essential duty and prejudice resulted. See
    Strickland v. Washington, 
    466 U.S. 668
    , 687 (1984); 
    Lamasters, 821 N.W.2d at 866
    . We will affirm the PCR denial if either prong is unsatisfied. Anfinson v. State,
    
    758 N.W.2d 496
    , 499 (Iowa 2008).
    On appeal, Morris claims his trial attorneys were ineffective in not filing a
    motion in arrest of judgment attacking his guilty plea. He alleges: “Had either
    attorney for Morris filed a motion in arrest of judgment, the Court could have set
    aside [his] guilty plea and allowed him to proceed to trial as Morris intended.”
    The rules of criminal procedure explain the role of motions in arrest of
    judgment. Such motions allow a defendant to apply for a ruling that no judgment
    be rendered on his or her plea of guilty. Iowa R. Crim. P. 2.24(3)(a). The court
    must grant the motion “when upon the whole record no legal judgment can be
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    pronounced.” 
    Id. If a
    defendant fails to challenge the adequacy of a guilty-plea
    proceeding by motion in arrest of judgment, he or she cannot assert such a
    challenge on appeal. 
    Id. But a
    defendant’s failure to file a motion in arrest of
    judgment will not bar a challenge on appeal if the neglect resulted from ineffective
    assistance of counsel. State v. Bearse, 
    748 N.W.2d 211
    , 218 (Iowa 2008).
    What’s missing from Morris’s appellate argument is any mention of a
    deficiency in the guilty-plea hearing that would have justified either attorney in filing
    a motion in arrest of judgment. See State v. Barbee, 
    370 N.W.2d 603
    , 605 (Iowa
    Ct. App. 1985) (explaining motion in arrest of judgment “must point out wherein the
    deficiency exists”).     By not pointing to any inadequacy in the guilty-plea
    proceeding, Morris fails to prove a breach of duty by his trial counsel.
    Even if Morris could identify a deficiency in the plea proceeding, the record
    does not support his claim he expressed his wish to withdraw his guilty plea to
    either of his trial attorneys. We defer to the district court’s specific credibility finding
    on that question. See Taylor v. State, 
    352 N.W.2d 683
    , 687 (Iowa 1984). Because
    Morris cannot show counsel’s performance fell below an objective standard of
    reasonable competence, we affirm the PCR denial.
    AFFIRMED.