MERRILL HOWARD, Applicant-Appellant, vs. STATE OF IOWA, Respondent-Appellee.
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IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF IOWA
No. 7-131 / 06-0240
Filed May 9, 2007
MERRILL HOWARD,
Applicant-Appellant,
vs.
STATE OF IOWA,
Respondent-Appellee.
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Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Scott County, J. Hobart Darbyshire,
Judge.
Merrill Howard appeals from the district court’s denial of his application for
postconviction relief. AFFIRMED.
Mark Neary of Neary Law Office, Muscatine, for appellant.
Merrill Howard, Pro Se, Anamosa, for appellant.
Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, Darrel Mullins, Assistant Attorney
General, and William E. Davis, County Attorney, for appellee State.
Considered by Vogel, P.J., and Vaitheswaran and Eisenhauer, JJ.
2
VAITHESWARAN, J.
Merrill Howard pled guilty to second-degree murder in connection with a
shooting in Davenport, Iowa.
postconviction relief.
He subsequently filed an application for
Following a hearing, the district court denied the
application.
On appeal, Howard asserts trial counsel was ineffective in failing to (1) file
a motion to suppress his confession, (2) stay in regular contact with him, and (3)
file a motion in arrest of judgment or an appeal of the judgment and sentence
imposed following the court’s acceptance of his guilty plea.
We conclude the first claim does not survive Howard’s entry of his guilty
plea even when raised under the guise of an ineffective-assistance-of-counsel
claim. Speed v. State, 616 N.W.2d 158, 159 (Iowa 2000).
We reach the same conclusion with respect to Howard’s second claim
concerning the contacts with his attorney. See State v. Yodprasit, 564 N.W.2d
383, 387 (Iowa 1997). Howard’s claim that his attorney “didn’t really talk” to him
was not an objection or defense intrinsic to the plea. Speed, 616 N.W.2d at 159.
Therefore, it was waived. Id.
Turning to Howard’s third claim, we agree with the State that trial counsel
had no duty to take futile actions. State v. Rice, 543 N.W.2d 884, 888 (Iowa
1996). As Howard’s guilty plea resulted in a waiver of the substantive challenges
he raised, there was no basis for filing a motion in arrest of judgment or a notice
of appeal from the judgment and sentence.
3
We affirm the district court’s dismissal of Howard’s postconviction relief
application.
AFFIRMED.
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