State of Iowa v. Dereck Lorenzo Mitchell Elliott

• Court: Court of Appeals of Iowa
• Decided: January 11, 2023
• Docket: 22-0740
• Status: Published

Opinion

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF IOWA

No. 22-0740 Filed January 11, 2023

STATE OF IOWA, Plaintiff-Appellee,

vs.

DERECK LORENZO MITCHELL ELLIOTT, Defendant-Appellant. ________________________________________________________________

Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Muscatine County, Jeffrey D. Bert,

Judge.

A defendant challenges the validity of his guilty plea on grounds that his

plea lacked a factual basis. APPEAL DISMISSED.

Mark C. Meyer, Cedar Rapids, for appellant.

Brenna Bird, Attorney General, and Bridget A. Chambers, Assistant

Attorney General, for appellee.

Considered by Tabor, P.J., and Schumacher and Chicchelly, JJ. 2

CHICCHELLY, Judge.

Dereck Elliott appeals from his guilty plea for assault while displaying a

dangerous weapon, in violation of Iowa Code sections 708.1(2)(c)

and 708.2(3) (2021). Elliott argues the district court failed to ensure the record

contained a factual basis for the statutory provisions under which he pled guilty.

To preserve error for direct appeal, Elliott needed to file a motion in arrest of

judgment with the district court. See Iowa R. Crim. P. 2.24(3)(a) (“A defendant’s

failure to challenge the adequacy of a guilty plea proceeding by motion in arrest of

judgment shall preclude the defendant’s right to assert such challenge on

appeal.”).

Elliott contends that his failure to file a motion in arrest of judgment, which

was an obligation explicitly acknowledged in his written plea, should be excused

because he established good cause to appeal. See Iowa Code § 814.6(1)(a)(3)

(permitting appeal from a conviction where the defendant pled guilty if good cause

is established). However, our supreme court recently answered this precise

question:

Because [the defendant] failed to file a motion in arrest of judgment, he cannot establish good cause to pursue this direct appeal from his guilty plea as a matter of right, and we lack jurisdiction to hear his appeal. Dismissal of the appeal is required. Accordingly, we do not reach the merits of his no-factual-basis challenge to his guilty plea.

State v. Hanes, 981 N.W.2d 454, 462 (Iowa 2022) (internal citations omitted).

Because Elliott failed to file a motion in arrest of judgment, we lack jurisdiction to

consider his direct appeal. Accordingly, we dismiss this appeal without further

opinion. See Iowa Ct. R. 21.26(1)(c), (e).

APPEAL DISMISSED.