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Iowa Supreme Court Grants Further Review in Becker Case

by Ryan Koopmans | January 3, 2012

By Ryan Koopmans

The Iowa Supreme Court has agreed to consider an appeal by Mark Becker, the man who was convicted of killing Aplington-Parkersburg football coach Ed Thomas.

Becker had earlier urged the Court of Appeals to reverse his conviction, claiming that the district court failed to submit certain jury instructions on Becker’s insanity defense, and that the instructions it did give were incorrect.  The Court of Appeals rejected Becker’s arguments and affirmed the district court.  The opinion is here.

UPDATE:  Becker’s petition for further review is available here.

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October 2024 Opinion Roundup

The Iowa Supreme Court entered opinions in eight cases in October 2024. In addition to Rox Laird’s analysis of State of Iowa v. William Noble Chaiden Miller and Katherine Avenarius and Paul Avenarius v. State of Iowa summarized on this blog, the remaining opinions from October are summarized below.

Iowa Supreme Court deadlocks on specifics required for liability waivers

When Dubuque police officer Katherine Avenarius accidentally shot herself in the leg while attending an Iowa Law Enforcement Academy firearms instructor school, she sued the academy claiming her injury was the result of an instructor’s advice on how to handle her firearm that contradicted how she had previously been trained. The State, which operates the academy, argued Avenarius signed a “clear and unequivocal” waiver and release of liability.

Iowa Supreme Court upholds minimum prison term for juvenile convicted of murder

The Iowa Supreme Court upheld a 35-year minimum prison sentence for a Fairfield juvenile who pleaded guilty to first degree murder for the death of his high school Spanish teacher. In its unanimous decision, the Court rejected the defendant’s argument that, under the Iowa Constitution, the State must present expert testimony showing a minimum sentence is necessary for a juvenile offender.

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