STATE OF IOWA, Plaintiff-Appellee, vs. WESLEY RUNDELL WASHINGTON, Defendant-Appellant.
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IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF IOWA
No. 7-846 / 07-0059
Filed December 12, 2007
STATE OF IOWA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
vs.
WESLEY RUNDELL WASHINGTON,
Defendant-Appellant.
________________________________________________________________
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Black Hawk County, Jon Fister,
Judge.
Wesley Washington appeals his perjury conviction. AFFIRMED.
Mark C. Smith, State Appellate Defender, and Jason Shaw, Assistant
Appellate Defender, for appellant.
Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, Sharon K. Hall, Assistant Attorney
General, Thomas J. Ferguson, County Attorney, and Joel A. Dalrymple, Assistant
County Attorney, for appellee.
Considered by Vogel, P.J., and Mahan and Zimmer, JJ.
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MAHAN, J.
Wesley Washington was charged and convicted of perjury in violation of
Iowa Code section 720.2 (2005) as a result of his inconsistent eye-witness
testimony regarding a shooting in Waterloo on January 17, 2006.
He was
sentenced to five years in prison. He claims his due process rights were violated
by ineffective assistance of defense counsel.
We affirm his conviction and
preserve his ineffective assistance claims for possible postconviction relief
proceedings.
Claims of ineffective assistance of counsel are reviewed de novo. State v.
Bergman, 600 N.W.2d 311, 313 (Iowa 1999). We generally preserve such claims
for postconviction relief actions to allow full development of the facts surrounding
counsel’s conduct. State v. Atley, 564 N.W.2d 817, 833 (Iowa 1997). However,
we will resolve the issues on appeal if the record is adequate to show either that
the defendant cannot prevail on the claim as a matter of law or that the elements
of the ineffective assistance claim are present and an evidentiary hearing would
not alter the conclusion. State v. Graves, 668 N.W.2d 860, 869 (Iowa 2003).
Washington claims his defense counsel was ineffective, depriving him of
his right to due process, by failing to (1) conduct proper discovery, (2) file a
motion in limine to exclude certain evidence, and (3) object to prosecutorial
misconduct.
To prevail on a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel
Washington must prove that (1) his defense counsel failed to perform an
essential duty and (2) the failure resulted in prejudice. State v. Martinez, 679
N.W.2d 620, 625-26 (Iowa 2004). If he cannot make such a showing as a matter
of law, we will affirm his conviction. Graves, 668 N.W.2d at 869. If he can make
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such a showing, we will reverse and remand for a new trial. Id. However, if the
record is inadequate to make such a determination, we will reserve for
postconviction relief. Martinez, 679 N.W.2d at 625-26. “Even a lawyer is entitled
to his day in court, especially when his professional reputation is impugned.”
State v. Coil, 264 N.W.2d 293, 296 (Iowa 1978).
In this case we conclude the record is inadequate to decide the
postconviction relief claims raised and therefore preserve said claims for possible
postconviction relief proceedings. We affirm the conviction.
AFFIRMED.
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