Preview:

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF IOWA No. 2-167 / 11-0450 Filed April 11, 2012

ROBERT JOHNSTON JR., Applicant-Appellant, vs. STATE OF IOWA, Respondent-Appellee. ________________________________________________________________

Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Carla T. Schemmel, Judge.

Robert Johnston Jr. appeals the district court's denial of postconviction relief. AFFIRMED.

Jared C. Harmon of Carr & Wright, P.L.C., Des Moines, for appellant. Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, Bridget A. Chambers, Assistant Attorney General, John P. Sarcone, County Attorney, and Mark Taylor, Assistant County Attorney, for appellee.

Considered by Vogel, P.J., and Potterfield and Doyle, JJ.

2 DOYLE, J. Robert Johnston Jr. appeals the district court's denial of postconviction relief.1 He asserts the postconviction court erred in finding that the trial court need not have conducted a competency hearing. He also contends the

postconviction court erred in finding his trial counsel was not ineffective in failing to (1) request a competency hearing, (2) investigate witnesses, and (3) pursue a change of venue. The postconviction court's ruling was thorough and thoughtful. Because we agree with the postconviction court's reasoning, its conclusions under the facts presented, and its application of the law, we affirm pursuant to Iowa Rule of Appellate Procedure 6.1203(a) and (d). AFFIRMED.

In his brief, Johnston states error was preserved by the filing of his notice of appeal. "While this is a common statement in briefs, it is erroneous, for the notice of appeal has nothing to do with error preservation." Thomas A. Mayes & Anuradha Vaitheswaran, Error Preservation in Civil Appeals in Iowa: Perspectives on Present Practice, 55 Drake L. Rev. 39, 48 (Fall 2006) (footnote omitted) (explaining that "[a]s a general rule, the error preservation rules require a party to raise an issue in the trial court and obtain a ruling from the trial court."). Nevertheless, upon our review we considered all claims of error raised by Johnston.

1



Download ROBERT JOHNSTON JR., Applicant-Appellant, vs. STATE OF IOWA, Respondent-Appellee

Iowa Law