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State of Iowa v. Knicolas Davon Lewis. IA criminal law
The defendant, who was 17 years old at the time of the offense, pleaded guilty to robbery in the second degree. He was sentenced to ten years, and ordered to serve at least three years before being eligible for parole.
At sentencing, the defendant requested a deferred sentence under Iowa Code 901.5(14), which allows for deferred sentences in certain cases where the defendant is under 18 at the time of the offense.
The trial court erroneously concluded that this statute was not applicable. On appeal, the State conceded that it was applicable to the defendant's case.
Accordingly, the Court of Appeals reversed and remanded, allowing the defendant to be resentenced with the court aware of all options within its discretion. "Where a court fails to exercise the discretion granted it by law because it erroneously believes it has no discretion, a remand for resentencing is required." Quoting State v. Lee, 561 N.W.2d 353 (Iowa 1999).
No. 17-2103 (Iowa Ct. App. Oct. 9, 2019).
Please see the original opinion for the court's exact language.
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Richard P. Clem is an attorney and continuing legal education (CLE) provider in Minnesota. He has been in private practice in the Twin Cities for 25 years. He has a J.D., cum laude, from Hamline University School of Law in St. Paul and a B.A. in History from the University of Minnesota. His reported cases include: Asociacion Nacional de Pescadores a Pequena Escala o Artesanales de Colombia v. Dow Quimica de Colombia, 988 F.2d 559, rehearing denied, 5 F.3d 530 (5th Cir. 1993), cert. denied, 510 U.S. 1041 (1994); LaMott v. Apple Valley Health Care Center, 465 N.W.2d 585 (Minn. Ct. App. 1991); Abo el Ela v. State, 468 N.W.2d 580 (Minn. Ct. App. 1991).
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