State of Iowa v. Terrence Martez Gordon
20-0246
| Iowa Ct. App. | Oct 6, 2021Background
- On June 5, 2018, Terrence Gordon pled guilty to five offenses and the district court sentenced him to prison but granted a furlough to report to jail on June 7, 2018 at 4:00 p.m.
- Gordon did not report as ordered on June 7, 2018; the court issued a warrant for his arrest.
- Gordon was arrested in September 2019 and charged with failure to appear under Iowa Code § 811.2(8).
- The jury convicted Gordon of failure to appear; he appealed raising challenges to the jury instructions and the sufficiency of the evidence (and additionally alleged ineffective assistance of counsel, which the court did not address on direct appeal).
- The contested jury instruction permitted conviction for failing to appear “before the court or its designee, the Black Hawk County Sheriff,” which Gordon argued misstated the statute that mentions only courts or magistrates.
- The court applied State v. Jackson and other precedent, rejected Gordon’s challenges, and affirmed the conviction.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Validity of marshalling/jury instruction (whether jury could convict for failing to appear to sheriff/jail) | Instruction correctly described law; failure to appear to court designee supports conviction. | Instruction misstated Iowa Code § 811.2(8) because statute mentions only "court or magistrate," not a court "designee." | Instruction affirmed as accurate under controlling precedent (State v. Jackson). |
| Sufficiency of the evidence; whether Gordon "willfully" failed to appear and whether Jackson should be overruled | State: evidence sufficient—Gordon failed to report to the court's designee; Jackson controls. | Gordon: insufficient evidence because statute requires failure to appear before a court or magistrate; asks court to overturn Jackson. | Evidence sufficient; court refuses to overturn State v. Jackson and affirms conviction. |
Key Cases Cited
- State v. Huser, 894 N.W.2d 472 (Iowa 2017) (standard of review for sufficiency of the evidence)
- State v. Coleman, 907 N.W.2d 124 (Iowa 2018) (standard of review for statutory interpretation and jury-instruction challenges)
- State v. Jackson, 488 N.W.2d 701 (Iowa 1992) (holding that failure to appear at county jail or to sheriff is punishable under section 811.2(8) as court designee)
- State v. Hastings, 466 N.W.2d 697 (Iowa Ct. App. 1990) (lower courts must follow Iowa Supreme Court precedent)