State of Iowa v. Curtis Cortez Jones ( 2020 )

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF IOWA
No. 19-0494
Filed June 17, 2020
STATE OF IOWA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
vs.
CURTIS CORTEZ JONES,
Defendant-Appellant.
________________________________________________________________
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Johnson County, Lars G. Anderson,
Judge.
A defendant challenges his conviction for murder in the first degree.
AFFIRMED ON CONDITION AND REMANDED WITH DIRECTIONS.
Martha J. Lucey, State Appellate Defender, and Theresa R. Wilson,
Assistant Appellate Defender, for appellant.
Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, and Benjamin Parrott, Assistant
Attorney General, for appellee.
Heard by Tabor, P.J., and May and Greer, JJ.
2
TABOR, Presiding Judge.
Curtis Cortez Jones represented himself at his trial for first-degree murder.
The jury found him guilty. He now appeals, claiming the district court did not
ensure his waiver of counsel was knowing, voluntary, and intelligent. He also asks
for a conditional remand so he can develop his argument that the State violated
his Sixth Amendment right to an impartial jury. Viewing the record in its totality,
we find the district court’s inquiry of Jones was adequate to protect his rights. But
we remand his claim that the jury did not represent a fair cross section of the
community for further development under new case law from our supreme court.
I. Facts and Prior Proceedings
Jonathan Wieseler’s fiancée found his body at the Lederman Bail Bonds
office, where he worked. He met an after-hours customer the night of April 22,
2017, but did not come home. Uncharacteristically, Wiesler did not return his
fiancée’s calls. The next morning, she found him face down on his office floor,
shirtless, and covered in blood. She could not find a pulse and called 911. A first
responder described the scene as “a gory mess.” An autopsy revealed Wieseler
had been beaten and shot three times in the head, and his throat was slit.
The night before, a customer called asking for help to bond her sister out of
the Johnson County jail. The customer arranged to meet Wieseler at his office.
Before the bondsman arrived, she saw a man later identified as Jones. She
described him as “antsy” and thought he was trying to enter the building. Jones
engaged her in conversation about the amount of her sister’s bail and claimed he
too was looking for a bondsman. But when Wieseler arrived, Jones left without
even making eye contact with him. The customer did not see Jones again.
3
Her attention turned to paying Wieseler $500, ten percent of her sister’s
$5000 bond. After satisfying the surety, she and Wieseler went to bail out her
sister. The jail’s external surveillance cameras captured footage of Wieseler and
the two women leaving around 10:15 p.m.1 As Wieseler reached his parked car,
the video showed a man matching Jones’s description approach from a vacant lot.
The men spoke for a few minutes before walking into the Lederman office. Around
10:30 p.m., as he returned from studying at the library, a university student who
lived in an apartment next door saw the man identified as Jones leave the
Lederman office. After the murder, Lederman’s operations manager discovered
$1300 missing from the office, including the $500 in cash the customer had
deposited with Wieseler to secure her sister’s release.
No arrest occurred that spring. But in the summer of 2017, police
investigating a car accident in Washington, Iowa, uncovered clues. Inside a totaled
Chevy Malibu, investigators found suspected blood and biological material. A
swab sent for testing showed contributions from the DNA profiles of both Jones
and Wieseler.
It is here that the investigation of Wieseler’s killing converges with a second
murder in Iowa City. That is, the June 27, 2017 robbery and shooting death of cab
driver Ricky Lillie. According to the minutes of testimony, the similarities between
the two murders caused investigators to revisit the surveillance video from April
1The State also offered video from surveillance cameras on area businesses that
showed a person matching Jones’s description driving his girlfriend’s white Chevy
Malibu near the jail around 9:30 that night.
4
22, looking for the Chevy Malibu. In a June 30, 2017 interview, police questioned
Jones about both crimes.
Relevant to Jones’s motion to suppress, the district court offered this
timeline of the two events:
o June 30, 2017—Jones is arrested on an unrelated theft charge in
Mount Pleasant, Iowa. Law enforcement questioned Jones about
the murders of both Lillie and Wieseler. At the tail end of the
interview, Jones told law enforcement, “Next time you come,
bring my lawyer with you” . . . .
o July 20, 2017—Jones is arrested for the death of Ricky Lillie.
o July 21, 2017—Counsel is appointed to represent Jones in [Lillie]
case.
o November 20, 2017—Jones is arrested for the death of Wieseler
and charged in this case. He is again interviewed by law
enforcement. Counsel is not present.
The district court agreed to suppress statements Jones made after his invocation
of the right to counsel.
A limited amount of information appears in this record about Lillie’s murder.
In response to the defense motion in limine, the State agreed not to discuss that
case during this trial on the killing of Wieseler. But the record does include a
defense motion for change of venue that mentions “extensive media coverage”
related to Jones going to trial on a different murder charge. The motion asks the
district court to take judicial notice of the order granting a change of venue to Scott
County in the Lillie murder prosecution. The same two attorneys, Douglas Davis
and Nekeidra Tucker, represented Jones in the Lillie case. The court transferred
venue in this second murder trial to Polk County.
5
Before the January 2019 trial, defense counsel filed a motion asking for “an
order requiring necessary remedial measures” to ensure his jury pool represented
a fair cross-section of the community, citing State v. Plain, 898 N.W.2d 801 (Iowa
2017). The motion sought a “fair and reasonable representation of African
American jurors, Hispanic jurors, Asian jurors, and non-White jurors” on Jones’s
jury venire. The State resisted the Plain motion.
In a pretrial hearing, the court addressed the fair-cross-section issue.
Attorney Davis asserted Jones’s jury pool and panel were not “a fair cross-
representation” because of the “underrepresentation of the African-American
community.” Relying on the data, counsel argued there was no reason to believe
“there is not some type of systematic exclusion of the African-American group
based on those numbers.” The court denied the motion.
After jury selection, Attorney Davis informed the court that Jones wished to
represent himself. Davis explained Jones wanted “a hybrid representation of sorts”
where counsel would continue to provide technical support. But if that wasn’t
possible, Jones wanted to waive his right to counsel. The district court engaged
Jones in a colloquy. The court denied the request for hybrid representation. Jones
confirmed he still wanted to represent himself. So the court appointed Davis and
Tucker as standby counsel. Jones represented himself through the trial.
The State called more than twenty witnesses. Jones called none. He also
decided not to testify in his own defense after the court informed him that the State
might be able to impeach him with his recent murder conviction. As he had done
in his first trial, Jones asked the court not to submit any lesser-included-offense
alternatives to the jury. As the court clarified with Jones, “then the jury only has
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one choice and that is to either convict you or acquit you on the charge of Murder
in the First Degree.” Jones confirmed that he understood the choice. Jones also
confirmed he knew a conviction of first-degree murder “carries with it a lifetime in
prison without the chance of parole.”
The jury found Jones guilty. And the jurors answered two special
interrogatories. All twelve jurors believed Jones was guilty of both premeditated
murder and felony murder while participating in first-degree robbery.
Jones now appeals. He raises two issues: (1) the adequacy of the court’s
colloquy on his desire to waive his right to counsel and (2) the treatment of his fair
cross-section jury pool claim.
II. Scope and Standards of Review
We review both issues de novo because they implicate the Sixth
Amendment.2 See Plain, 898 N.W.2d at 810; State v. Rater, 568 N.W.2d 655, 657
(Iowa 1997). For the waiver issue, Jones also relies on article I, section 10 of the
Iowa Constitution.3 Because Jones does not argue for a separate analysis under
2 That amendment guarantees:
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a
speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district
wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall
have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the
nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the
witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining
witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his
defence.
U.S. Const. amend. VI.
3 That section provides:
In all criminal prosecutions, and in cases involving the life, or liberty
of an individual the accused shall have a right to a speedy and public
trial by an impartial jury; to be informed of the accusation against him,
to have a copy of the same when demanded; to be confronted with
7
the Iowa Constitution, we apply the general federal framework. See In re Detention
of Anderson, 895 N.W.2d 131, 139 (Iowa 2017) (noting our supreme court
nonetheless reserves the right to “apply the federal framework in a different
manner”).
III. Analysis
A. Did the district court ensure Jones’s waiver of counsel was
knowing, voluntary, and intelligent?
When facing a criminal trial, defendants possess both the right to counsel
and the right to represent themselves. See Faretta v. California, 422 U.S. 806,
807 (1975). The right to counsel remains in effect until the defendant waives it.
Rater, 568 N.W.2d at 658. In other words, before the right to self-representation
attaches, defendants must elect to proceed without counsel by a knowing,
intelligent, and voluntary waiver of their right to counsel. Faretta, 422 U.S. at 835–
36. A request to proceed without counsel must be clear and unequivocal. Id. The
State bears the burden to prove a valid waiver. Rater, 568 N.W.2d at 660.
No question, Jones made a clear request to proceed without his attorneys.
True, he preferred hybrid representation. But when the court declined that
arrangement, he did not equivocate in his desire to waive counsel. Jones told the
judge, “[A]s far as me representing myself, I’m fully capable of doing that.”
After Jones asked to forgo counsel, the district court had a duty to determine
whether his waiver was competent and intelligent. See State v. Cooley, 608
N.W.2d 9, 15 (Iowa 2000).
the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for his
witnesses; and, to have the assistance of counsel.
Iowa Const. art. I, § 10.
8
To be valid such waiver must be made with an apprehension of the
nature of the charges, the statutory offenses included within them,
the range of allowable punishments thereunder, possible defenses
to the charges and circumstances in mitigation thereof, and all other
facts essential to a broad understanding of the whole matter.
Id. (citing Von Moltke v. Gillies, 332 U.S. 708, 724 (1948)).
The court also had the responsibility to ensure Jones understood the
obstacles inherent in self-representation. See id. at 16. Engaging in a so-called
Faretta colloquy allows the record to show the accused comprehended the pitfalls
of self-representation and still chose to go ahead. See State v. Martin, 608 N.W.2d
445, 450 (Iowa 2000) (citing Faretta, 422 U.S. at 835). What does the court need
to ask the defendant? Our supreme court has endorsed the following colloquy:
(1) Have you ever studied law?
(2) Have you ever represented yourself or any other
defendant in a criminal action?
(3) You realize, do you not, that you are charged with [first-
degree murder].
(4) You realize, do you not, that if you are found guilty of the
crime charged . . . the court could sentence you to [life in prison].
(5) You realize, do you not, that if you represent yourself, you
are on your own? I cannot tell you how you should try your case or
even advise you as to how to try your case.
(6) Are you familiar with the Rules of Evidence? You realize,
do you not, that the Federal Rules of Evidence govern what evidence
may or may not be introduced at trial and, in representing yourself,
you must abide by those rules?
(7) Are you familiar with the Rules of Criminal Procedure?
You realize, do you not, that those rules govern the way in which a
criminal action is tried in federal court?
(8) You realize, do you not, that if you decide to take the
witness stand, you must present your testimony by asking questions
of yourself? You cannot just take the stand and tell your story. You
must proceed question by question through your testimony.
(9) I must advise you that in my opinion you would be far better
defended by a trained lawyer than you can be by yourself. I think it
is unwise of you to try to represent yourself. You are not familiar with
the law. You are not familiar with court procedure. You are not
familiar with the rules of evidence. I would strongly urge you not to
try to represent yourself.
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(10) Now, in light of the penalty that you might suffer if you are
found guilty and in light of all of the difficulties of representing
yourself, is it still your desire to represent yourself and to give up your
right to be represented by a lawyer?
(11) Is your decision entirely voluntary on your part?
See id. at 450 (citing Spencer v. Ault, 941 F. Supp. 832, 843–44 (N.D. Iowa 1996)).
This colloquy is a helpful model, but need not be delivered word for word. See
Iowa v. Tovar, 541 U.S. 77, 88 (2004) (rejecting notion that supreme court has
“prescribed any formula or script to be read to a defendant who states that he
elects to proceed without counsel”); State v. Spencer, 519 N.W.2d 357, 360 (Iowa
1994) (explaining Iowa courts “look to the record as a whole to determine whether
the defendant desired to be represented by counsel”).
Here, the court engaged Jones in the following exchange:
THE COURT: Mr. Jones, I’m just going to ask you a couple
questions and, you know, I’m not denigrating you or anything. These
are standard questions I would ask anybody who would want to
represent themselves. Sir, have you ever studied law? A: No.
Q: Have you ever, prior to this case or prior to now, ever
represented yourself in a criminal action? A: No, I haven’t.
Q: All right. And you understand, I believe, fully the charge
that you are charged with, murder in the first degree, you understand
that if you are convicted of that offense, it carries with it a mandatory
life imprisonment? There is also a requirement that you pay
$150,000 in restitution. Do you understand those penalties? A: Yes,
I do.
Q: And you realize that if you are representing yourself, either
by yourself or in some sort of hybrid arrangement, you are on your
own? I can’t give you any legal advice as to how you should proceed
or how you should try your case. Do you understand that? A: Yes.
Q: And your attorney has indicated that you have some
familiarity with the Iowa Rules of Evidence. Do you believe you are
familiar with the Iowa Rules of Evidence? A: Yes, I mean, enough
to, you know, navigate my way through, I guess.
Q: Well, those rules govern the way—the Iowa Rules of
Evidence along with the Iowa Rules of Criminal Procedure govern
the way one—how a trial works, and then the Rules of Evidence
govern, you know, how evidence is admitted and when evidence may
be admitted and when it may not be admitted, and you are on your
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own with respect to those so if you don’t object to something that
could have been objected to, it’s coming in. Do you understand that?
A: Yes.
Q: The other thing you need to understand if you are
representing yourself, either by yourself or in some sort of co-counsel
capacity—well, clearly if you are representing yourself, you are not
going to be able to complain about anything later on down the road.
So if you were convicted and evidence comes in on your watch, not
your attorneys’, or something happens on your watch, not your
attorneys’, that you failed to take action on or did take action on but
it was the inappropriate action, you are not going to be able to
complain about that. Do you understand that? A: Yes.
Q: Also, I’m not sure what decision you are going to make as
far as you testifying, but if you—if you are representing yourself and
you choose to take the witness stand, you are going to need ask
yourself questions. This isn’t going to be a situation where you get
to get up here and just take the witness stand and, you know, go into
a stream of consciousness, but basically you can’t get up here and
tell your version or tell your story about what happened. You would
have to ask yourself questions just like any other witness would be
asked questions. Do you understand that? A: Yes.
Q: And also I want to make it clear to you that you would be
expected to follow all rules of procedure just as if you were an
attorney practicing in court. So, you know, if there is—you are doing
something that’s objectionable and counsel for the State objects and
I sustain that objection, you are going to have to follow through and—
you know, for example, if you are trying to admit an exhibit and you
are not doing it right and they object, then I’m going to sustain that
objection, and it’s going to be up to you to figure out how to admit
whatever exhibit you want to have admitted. Do you understand
that? A: Yes.
Q: Mr. Jones, especially with a case of this magnitude—I
mean, generally my view for almost every case and especially in a
case of this magnitude and with the details and information that I’m
aware of, I believe anybody in your situation, and particularly you
based on the specifics that I know about in this case, is going to be
better defended by a trained lawyer than you would be representing
yourself. I think it’s unwise and foolish of you to represent yourself.
You are not familiar with the law; you are not familiar with the Court
procedures; you’re not familiar with the Rules of Evidence; and I
would strongly urge you to rely on your appointed counsel to
represent you.
The district court then asked Jones if, after considering all those issues, he
still wanted to represent himself. Jones answered: “Yes, if I can have my hybrid.”
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After discussions with counsel, the court rejected the request for hybrid counsel.
Then the court clarified with Jones that he still wished to represent himself. Jones
twice confirmed that he did. The court asked if anybody was pressuring him to
waive counsel. Jones said no. The court asked if the decision was voluntary.
Jones said yes. The court then accepted Jones’s waiver of counsel.
After the first day of testimony, the court made additional record outside the
presence of the jury, noting,
[I]t’s no secret to those of us here that Mr. Jones, in November, I
believe, went through a trial on a similar charge and so he’s been
sentenced on that charge, and so the fact that he recently went
through that trial, obviously is aware of the penalties, what’s involved
in a trial, that went into my decision—that factored into my decision
that his decision to represent himself today was—or proceeding is a
knowing and voluntary decision.
On appeal, Jones alleges the district court’s colloquy was “deficient in
several respects.” He lists five omissions: (1) no warning of the unavailability of
parole; (2) no mention of possible lesser included offenses; (2) no discussion of
possible defenses or mitigating circumstances; (3) no inquiry whether Jones had
reviewed the trial information or minutes of testimony or generally about his
participation in the development of his case; and (4) no question about the two
murder alternatives charged. He also complains the court did not ask if he was
under the influence of alcohol or controlled substances, or about any history of
mental health conditions. Finally, Jones contends the court should have asked if
anyone had made threats or promises to influence his decision.
Out of the gate, the State contends the record leaves no doubt Jones’s
decision was voluntary. Both Jones and his attorney confirmed nobody pressured
Jones to waive counsel. Yet Jones disagrees the record reveals a voluntary
12
waiver. At oral argument, his attorney linked a voluntary election to the
thoroughness of the court’s inquiry.
We agree the notion of voluntariness is tied to the knowing-and-intelligent
standard, though each concept has its own meaning. A waiver inquiry “has two
distinct dimensions.” Cf. Berghuis v. Thompkins, 560 U.S. 370, 382 (2010)
(discussing waiver of right to remain silent). It must be “voluntary in the sense that
it was the product of a free and deliberate choice rather than intimidation, coercion,
or deception.” Id. And it must be “made with a full awareness of both the nature
of the right being abandoned and the consequences of the decision to abandon it.”
Id. at 382–83. A waiver meets the definition of “intelligent” if the defendant “knows
what he is doing and his choice is made with eyes open.” Tovar, 541 U.S. at 88.
As for the first dimension, the record shows Jones decided to proceed
without an attorney freely and with no intimidation, coercion, or deception.
Attorney Davis dispassionately shared his client’s wish to represent himself. And
Jones repeatedly confirmed that was his desire. He agreed waiving counsel was
his “own voluntary decision.”
As for the second dimension of a voluntary waiver, we must decide whether
Jones possessed the information necessary to make an intelligent decision. The
State cites Tovar for the proposition that the necessary information to secure an
“intelligent election” depends on “a range of case-specific factors, including the
defendant’s education or sophistication, the complex or easily grasped nature of
the charge, and the stage of the proceeding.” 541 U.S. at 88.
Attorney Davis—who just finished representing Jones in the Lillie murder
trial—described his client as “knowledgeable and mature enough to make this
13
decision on his own.” Indeed, Jones was forty-two years old at the time of Wieseler
trial. He was a high-school graduate. It was evident from his conversation with
the judge that he had a solid command of the English language. In the State’s
view, the “weightiest” factor for us to consider is Jones’s recent experience of being
tried and convicted for first-degree murder. The State insists that exposure
prepared him to be “acutely, uniquely, aware of the nature of the proceedings and
the possible punishments.”4
We realize a defendant’s “professed familiarity with the justice system” will
not replace an appropriate dialogue with the court about the usefulness of an
attorney. See Cooley, 608 N.W.2d 16; see also State v. Stephenson, 608 N.W.2d
778, 782 (Iowa 2000) (holding “trial court has an absolute duty to indulge the
accused in an on the record colloquy”). But here, Jones had the best of both
worlds. The district court conducted a thorough give-and-take with Jones, hitting
all the high points from the model colloquy commended by our supreme court. The
missing information flagged by Jones on appeal was either non-essential or
supplied by Jones’s experiences.
Let’s start with the information about the unavailability of parole. Here, the
court told Jones that first-degree murder carried “mandatory life imprisonment.”
4 Jones argues that heavy reliance on the first murder case is unwarranted
because most of his experience there was not incorporated into this record. As
discussed above, the minutes of evidence, the suppression record, the change of
venue motion, and the discussion of jury instructions on lesser included offenses
all mentioned the Lillie case. And the district court found on the record it was “no
secret” to the attorneys that Jones went through a trial on a similar murder charge
in November 2018 and was recently sentenced for that offense. We consider
these references as part of the totality of circumstances in determining whether the
waiver of counsel was knowing, voluntary, and intelligent.
14
We find that adequate to inform Jones of the length of the prison sentence he
faced. Granted, it may have been more illuminating to specify that Jones would
never be eligible for parole if convicted of first-degree murder. But he had that
information from his recent sentencing in the Lillie case.
Turning to the other missing information, Jones cites no authority for the
position that a valid waiver of counsel invariably must come with specific warnings
about lesser included offenses, possible defenses, elements of the charges, and
mitigating circumstances. Federal courts have not enshrined such a list of
essential points that trial judges must convey to the accused before accepting a
waiver of counsel. See United States v. Miller, 728 F.3d 768, 774 (8th Cir. 2013).
The Sixth Amendment does not require a “scripted admonishment” before
defendants are allowed to represent themselves. See Tovar, 541 U.S. at 92.
Rather, a valid waiver will depend on the particular facts of each case. Id. The
record here shows Jones was involved in the development of the case, attending
many depositions before asking to proceed without counsel. The record also
shows he understood the charges against him and attacked the forensic evidence
as his theory of defense. These circumstances do not suggest Jones required
additional information to validly waive counsel.
When we look at the entire record, and the comprehensive conversation the
district court had with Jones, we find the court properly determined Jones’s waiver
of his right to counsel was knowing, voluntary, and intelligent. See State v.
Hartsfield, No. 00-1686, 2002 WL 21933, at *2 (Iowa Ct. App. Jan. 9, 2002) (“The
record is clear the court carefully followed the inquiry that our supreme court
15
recommended when faced with a defendant who wishes to proceed pro se.”). We
decline to reverse on this issue.
B. Is Jones entitled to a remand to have the district court
reconsider his Plain motion under more recent case law?
The Sixth Amendment guarantees an impartial jury drawn from a fair cross-
section of the community. Taylor v. Louisiana, 419 U.S. 522, 530 (1975). To
establish a prima facie violation of that right, an accused must present sufficient
evidence to meet a three-part test:
(1) that the group alleged to be excluded is a ‘‘distinctive’’ group in
the community; (2) that the representation of this group in venires
from which juries are selected is not fair and reasonable in relation
to the number of such persons in the community; and (3) that this
underrepresentation is due to systematic exclusion of the group in
the jury-selection process.
Duren v. Missouri, 439 U.S. 357, 364 (1979); Plain, 898 N.W.2d at 821–22
(holding modified by State v. Lilly, 930 N.W.2d 293 (Iowa 2019)).
In January 2019, Jones filed a motion citing Plain. Addressing the first
Duren prong, the motion anticipated underrepresentation “of African Americans,
Hispanics, and non-Whites” in his jury pool. On the second prong, the motion
recognized that Plain examined underrepresentation through three metrics:
absolute disparity, comparative disparity, and standard deviation (also called a Z-
score). 898 N.W.2d at 822. On the third prong, the motion alleged that systematic
exclusion could be shown by a pattern of unfair underrepresentation. Attached to
16
the motion was an exhibit describing jury pool data for Polk County from May
through November 2018. The motion relied only on the Sixth Amendment.5
The district court heard arguments on the Plain motion before jury selection.
The parties agreed the court could consider an updated exhibit that included
specific information about the pool and panel here.6 After reviewing that data, the
district court denied the Plain motion. The court reasoned that the statistics were
based on questionnaires where about one-third of the potential jurors declined to
identify their race. Without that information, the court could not find either an unfair
representation or a systematic exclusion.
On appeal, Jones stresses he did not have the benefit of our supreme
court’s refinements to Plain—announced in a trio of cases issued in May 2019.
See Lilly, 930 N.W.2d at 304–08; State v. Veal, 930 N.W.2d 319 (Iowa 2019); State
v. Williams, 929 N.W.2d 621(Iowa 2019). In Lilly, the court held neither absolute
disparity nor comparative disparity is an accepted statistical method for
determining whether minority representation is “fair and reasonable in relation to
the number of such persons in the community.” 903 N.W.2d at 302. Instead, Lilly
held the standard-deviation method is appropriate. Id. Lilly further decided the
threshold for a state constitutional claim under the second Duren prong should be
one standard deviation from the norm. Id. at 304. “[I]n other words, the percentage
5 In Lilly, the defendant “brought his challenge under both the Sixth Amendment
and article I, section 10 of the Iowa Constitution, which like the Sixth Amendment
provides a right to trial before ‘an impartial jury.’” 930 N.W.2d at 300.
6 By statutory definitions, “pool” refers to the jurors summoned to the courthouse
for a particular time; “panel” refers to the jurors summoned to a particular
courtroom to serve, potentially, on a jury for a specific trial. See Iowa Code
§ 607A.3(7), (9); Lilly, 930 N.W.2d at 299 n.2.
17
of the group in the jury pool must be one standard deviation or more below its
percentage in the overall population of eligible jurors.” Id. The court explained
that one standard deviation meant “the probability would be 16% that the departure
is a random event and 84% that it is not.” Id. Recognizing that one standard
deviation was “less than the two standard deviations customarily employed to
measure statistical significance,” the court emphasized “the defendant still must
trace the disparity to some practice or practices” under Duren’s third prong. Id.
Lilly also held the data for the second Duren prong should be adjusted to reflect
the population in a community that “would actually be eligible for jury service.” Id.
at 304–05.
In the other two cases, the supreme court applied Lilly’s holding with
modifications to Sixth Amendment fair-cross-section claims and further discussed
the application of Plain to such claims. Veal, 930 N.W.2d at 328–30, 328 n.5;
Williams, 929 N.W.2d at 629–30, 629 n.1. In all three cases, the supreme court
remanded for the district court to consider the fair cross-section claims under the
modifications to Plain.
Tracking those outcomes, Jones argues his case should be remanded so
he may have a chance to “prove up his claim of systematic exclusion” under Lilly,
Veal, and Williams. Jones asserted the updated data for African Americans in the
pool and panel for his case showed more than one standard deviation from the
mean (specifically Z-scores of -1.225 for the pool and -1.066 for the panel).
In response, the State contends those deviations are not enough to satisfy
the Sixth Amendment. See Veal, 930 N.W.2d at 329 (“We are not persuaded that
one standard deviation would be enough to establish the underrepresentation
18
prong for federal constitutional purposes.”). As the State points out, Jones
preserved only the federal constitutional claim. The State insists Jones has not
explained how he could show the necessary downward variance of two standard
deviations to meet federal standards for Duren’s second prong. See id. The State
also argues Jones has failed to offer anything beyond statistics to show systematic
exclusion under the third prong.
In his reply brief, Jones acknowledges he is hamstrung by not raising a state
constitutional claim in the district court. Even so, he believes a remand is
appropriate so he can develop “an additional record” now that our supreme court
has clarified the required analysis. See Veal, 930 N.W.2d at 330; Williams, 929
N.W.2d at 630. At oral argument, defense counsel pointed to the updated statistics
for Polk County jury pools in the category of non-whites, which showed Z-scores
of -3.53 for the pool and -3.46 for the panel. Counsel urged a claim based on those
statistics may be developed on remand.
Like the supreme court in Veal and Williams, our court has affirmed on
condition and remanded to give a defendant the opportunity “to develop his
arguments that his constitutional right to an impartial jury was violated.” See State
v. Shaw, No. 18-0421, 2019 WL 5780884, at *4 (Iowa Ct. App. 2019). To be
consistent, we follow the same path here. On remand, Jones needs to show not
only a lack of fair and reasonable representation in the jury pool, but also
systematic exclusion.7 See Veal, 930 N.W.2d at 330 (noting third prong of
7While Jones sought “an order requiring necessary remedial measures” to ensure
his jury pool represented a fair cross-section of the community, he offered no
suggestions to achieve that result.
19
Duren/Plain requires defendant to identify some practice or combination of
practices that led to the group’s underrepresentation); Lilly, 930 N.W.2d at 307
(advising “statistically significant disparities are not enough” and “challenger must
tie the disparity to a particular practice.”). On those two showings, if the district
court finds a Sixth Amendment violation, it must grant Jones a new trial. See Veal,
930 N.W.2d at 330; Williams, 929 N.W.2d at 630. If the court rejects that claim,
then Jones’s conviction and sentence will stand. See Williams, 929 N.W.2d at
638.
AFFIRMED ON CONDITION AND REMANDED WITH DIRECTIONS.