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IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF IOWA No. 7-839 / 06-1877 Filed December 28, 2007 MICHAEL JACOBSMA, Plaintiff-Appellant, vs. IOWA DISTRICT COURT FOR DICKINSON COUNTY, Defendant-Appellee. ________________________________________________________________ Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Dickinson County, David Lester, Judge.

Michael Jacobsma seeks certiorari after the trial court upheld the state public defender's denial of Jacobsma's fee claim for court-appointed appellate work. WRIT ANNULLED.

Michael J. Jacobsma and Missy J. Clabaugh of Jacobsma, Clabaugh & Freking, P.L.C., Sioux Center, pro se. Mark C. Smith, State Appellate Defender, for appellee.

Heard by Sackett, C.J., and Miller and Eisenhauer, JJ.

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EISENHAUER, J. Michael Jacobsma filed a petition for writ of certiorari after the trial court upheld the state public defender's denial of his fee claim for court-appointed appellate work. The Iowa Supreme Court granted the writ and transferred the case to this court. Finding the district court committed no legal error, we annul the writ. I. BACKGROUND FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS. In 1999, Lincoln Belken was convicted of first-degree kidnapping. After exhausting his direct appeals, Belken sought post-conviction relief (PCR) and Jacobsma was appointed to represent him effective January 30, 2002. Belken's PCR applications alleged ineffective assistance of both trial and appellate counsel. After trial, on February 2, 2005, the court ruled against Belken on all grounds. The event central to this case occurred on February 17, 2005, when the court appointed Jacobsma to represent Belken on his PCR appeal. The order appointing Jacobsma as appellate counsel did not include a specific finding a contract attorney was unavailable to handle Belken's PCR appeal. In May 2006, the court authorized Jacobsma's fees up to $10,000 for handling the appeal, the Court of Appeals filed an opinion affirming the denial of PCR, and Jacobsma filed an application for further review of the PCR denial. Also in May 2006, Jacobsma filed two appellate fee claims with the public defender, one for $8,007.37 and one for $3,128.18. The public defender denied both claims and in June 2006, Jacobsma filed motions to have the denials reviewed by the court.

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In August 2006, after a hearing, the court upheld the public defender's denial of Jacobsma's fee claims. Jacobsma filed a motion to modify the court's ruling, which was overruled on October 17, 2006. Jacobsma next filed a petition for certiorari which was granted on February 7, 2007. Jacobsma's petition claims the trial court acted illegally in ruling he was not entitled to fees under Iowa Code section 815.7 and in ruling he was not entitled to fees under the doctrines of unjust enrichment or quantum meruit. II. STANDARD OF REVIEW. "Relief through certiorari is strictly limited to questions of jurisdiction or illegality of the challenged acts." French v. Iowa Dist. Ct., 546 N.W.2d 911, 913 (Iowa 1996). In a certiorari case, we review the trial court's ruling for correction of errors at law. State Pub. Defender v. Iowa Dist. Ct., 731 N.W.2d 680, 683 (Iowa 2007). The court's factual findings are binding if well supported. State Pub. Defender v. Iowa Dist. Ct., 644 N.W.2d 354, 356 (Iowa 2002). III. MERITS. A. INDIGENT APPEALS AND THE STATUTORY FEE PROCESS. Chapter 814 of the Iowa Code deals with appeals from the district court and section 814.11 details procedures for indigent appeals. Iowa Code

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