State of Iowa v. Daniel McTaggart, 15-1090

Daniel McTaggart pleaded guilty to second-degree robbery pursuant to a plea agreement reducing an original first-degree robbery charge.
After pleading, McTaggart filed two motions in arrest of judgment and obtained new counsel.
He alleges trial counsel provided ineffective assistance by (1) failing to adequately review discovery and thus misassessing the strength of the State’s case, and (2) wrongly advising he would likely receive probation (a suspended sentence) rather than jail.
The record shows counsel admitted he only learned of a mandatory minimum at the plea colloquy; McTaggart was informed of the mandatory minimum and given time off the record to consult with counsel.
The appellate court reviews ineffective-assistance claims de novo but found the record insufficient to resolve McTaggart’s claims on direct appeal and therefore preserved them for postconviction proceedings.
The court affirmed the conviction.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether counsel was ineffective for not adequately reviewing discovery and misadvising on the strength of the State’s case	State: record inadequate; issues should be preserved for fuller development	McTaggart: counsel didn’t review discovery so he wasn’t properly advised and would have gone to trial	Court: record insufficient to resolve on appeal; claim preserved for postconviction relief
Whether counsel was ineffective for advising McTaggart he likely would receive probation (suspended sentence) despite a mandatory minimum	State: preservation required; adequate record lacking to decide now	McTaggart: counsel misadvised him about sentencing options and he would not have pled guilty if he’d known	Court: record shows counsel learned of mandatory minimum at plea; McTaggart was informed and given time to consult, but overall record inadequate — claim preserved

State v. Willis, 696 N.W.2d 20 (Iowa 2005) (ineffective-assistance claims reviewed de novo)
Kirchner v. State, 756 N.W.2d 202 (Iowa 2008) (prejudice must be shown by more than a self-serving statement)
State v. Dempsey, 806 N.W.2d 860 (Iowa 2011) (defendant entitled to effective assistance during plea bargaining)
State v. Atley, 564 N.W.2d 817 (Iowa 1997) (claims of ineffective assistance generally preserved to allow full factual development)
State v. Johnson, 784 N.W.2d 192 (Iowa 2010) (if claim cannot be addressed on appeal it must be preserved for postconviction relief)