State v. Utter
Annotate this CaseJudith Utter was charged with supplying alcohol to a person under the legal age. Utter pled guilty to the charge. Subsequently, Utter appealed, arguing her trial counsel provided ineffective assistance by failing to file a motion to dismiss the charge based on the State's violation of Iowa's speedy indictment rule. The court of appeals affirmed after analyzing the issue and preserving Utter's claim for a postconviction relief proceeding. The Supreme Court vacated the court of appeals and reversed the district court, holding (1) the State violated the speedy indictment rule by failing to indict Utter with the forty-five day window mandated by Iowa R. Crim. P. 2.33(2)(a); (2) Utter's trial counsel failed to perform an essential duty by failing to file a motion to dismiss based on the State's violation of the speedy indictment rule; and (3) Utter did not enter the plea voluntarily or intelligently as she would not have pled guilty if she had known the court was required to dismiss the information under rule 2.33(2)(a) and the State could not charge her with any other violation of Iowa Code 123.47 arising out of the underage drinking party at her home. Remanded with directions to dismiss the information.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.