Juan Aguilar-Garcia, Applicant-Appellant v. State of Iowa, 16-1232

Aguilar-Garcia was charged with four counts of second-degree sexual abuse of a child; on the day trial began he entered an Alford plea to one count and the State dismissed the other three.
The court sentenced him to 25 years with a mandatory 70% minimum; he did not directly appeal.
He filed a postconviction-relief (PCR) application claiming trial counsel was ineffective for (1) inadequate investigation/preparation and (2) giving incorrect advice about immigration consequences of the plea.
At the PCR hearing both defendant and counsel testified; counsel said he deposed the victim and medical personnel, reviewed police and medical records and recordings, interviewed the potential character witnesses identified by Aguilar-Garcia, and consulted an immigration attorney.
The PCR court credited counsel’s testimony, found counsel had prepared reasonably and had not misadvised regarding deportation timing, and denied relief; Aguilar-Garcia appealed and the court of appeals affirmed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether counsel failed to investigate/prepare adequately	Counsel did not timely interview two sister witnesses and otherwise failed to investigate	Counsel deposed victim and medical personnel, reviewed files and recordings, interviewed sisters who lacked direct knowledge	Counsel’s investigation and tactical decision not to rely on sisters was reasonable; no breach
Whether counsel misadvised re: immigration consequences	Counsel told him he'd be deported quickly (within a year) and thus he pleaded guilty; but later learned he might serve mandatory minimum before deportation	Counsel consulted an immigration attorney, relayed that deportation was likely but timing uncertain and gave no guarantees	No deficient performance: counsel warned of deportation risk and did not guarantee timing; claim fails

Ennenga v. State, 812 N.W.2d 696 (Iowa 2012) (standard of review for ineffective-assistance claims)
Carroll v. State, 767 N.W.2d 638 (Iowa 2009) (prejudice standard in guilty-plea ineffective-assistance claims)
Straw v. State, 709 N.W.2d 128 (Iowa 2006) (presumption of competent performance and proving breach)
Graves v. State, 668 N.W.2d 860 (Iowa 2003) (failure to prove either element is fatal to claim)
Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (U.S. 1984) (duty to investigate or reasonably decide investigation unnecessary)
Padilla v. Kentucky, 559 U.S. 356 (U.S. 2010) (duty to advise noncitizen clients about deportation consequences of pleas)
Fryer v. State, 325 N.W.2d 400 (Iowa 1982) (deference to reasonable tactical decisions)