State of Iowa v. Noel Bender, 15-1595

Noel Bender moved in with a woman about two months after meeting her and later assaulted her; he was charged with domestic abuse assault (third or subsequent) as a habitual felon.
The district court's marshalling instruction allowed the jury to find the assault was "domestic abuse" either because the parties were "household members" or were in an "intimate relationship."
Bender conceded sexual contact but disputed household-member status; he emphasized lack of lease/utility ties and few personal items at the woman's residence.
Defense counsel did not object to the inclusion of the "intimate relationship" alternative in the jury instruction.
The jury returned a general guilty verdict; Bender appealed claiming ineffective assistance of counsel based on the failure to object to an erroneous instruction.
The Court of Appeals concluded the record was sufficient to decide the Strickland claim and found prejudice because the erroneously included "intimate relationship" alternative could have been the basis for the verdict.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether defense counsel was ineffective for failing to object to a jury instruction that permitted conviction if the parties were in an "intimate relationship"	State: No prejudice; defendant cannot show a reasonable probability of a different outcome because evidence supported guilt overall	Bender: Counsel breached an essential duty by not objecting to an instruction that misstated the law and allowed conviction on a statutorily unauthorized alternative; prejudice is likely because household-membership was disputed	Court: Counsel breached an essential duty and Bender showed prejudice—reversed and remanded for a new trial

Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984) (two-part ineffective-assistance-of-counsel test: performance and prejudice)
State v. Clay, 824 N.W.2d 488 (Iowa 2012) (record may be adequate to resolve ineffective-assistance claims on direct appeal)
State v. Ondayog, 722 N.W.2d 778 (Iowa 2006) (failing to recognize and preserve instructional error can constitute breach of duty)
State v. Perkins, 875 N.W.2d 190 (Iowa Ct. App. 2015) (distinguishing intimate-relationship and household-member bases for domestic-abuse definitions)
State v. Maxwell, 743 N.W.2d 185 (Iowa 2008) (no prejudice where a superfluous instruction did not materially misstate culpability)
State v. Thorndike, 860 N.W.2d 316 (Iowa 2015) (no prejudice from a superfluous jury alternative where record and arguments did not support that alternative)