Daniel Wayne Ockenfels v. State of Iowa ( 2021 )

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF IOWA
No. 20-0074
Filed February 17, 2021
DANIEL WAYNE OCKENFELS,
Applicant-Appellant,
vs.
STATE OF IOWA,
Respondent-Appellee.
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Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Coleman McAllister,
Judge.
Daniel Ockenfels appeals the district court’s denial of his postconviction-
relief application. AFFIRMED.
Nathan A. Olson of Branstad & Olson Law Office, Des Moines, for appellant.
Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, and Sharon K. Hall, Assistant Attorney
General, for appellee State.
Considered by Bower, C.J., and Vaitheswaran and Greer, JJ.
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VAITHESWARAN, Judge.
Daniel Ockenfels appeals the district court’s denial of his postconviction-
relief application following his 2016 convictions for third-degree burglary and
forgery. He argues his plea attorneys were ineffective in failing to inform him (A) of
legal defenses to the burglary charge and (B) the knowledge element of forgery.
I. Background Facts and Proceedings
Ockenfels entered a home without permission from the owners. He stole a
shirt from the home. Ockenfels pled guilty to third-degree burglary as a habitual
offender, in violation of Iowa Code sections 713.1 and 713.6A(1) (2016).1 The
district court imposed concurrent prison terms not exceeding fifteen years but
suspended the terms and placed Ockenfels on probation subject to certain
conditions.
In a separate proceeding arising from the discovery of counterfeit money in
Ockenfels’ wallet, Ockenfels entered an Alford plea2 to forgery as a habitual
offender, in violation of Iowa Code sections 715A.2(2)(a)(1), 902.8, and
902.9(1)(c). The district court sentenced him to a prison term not exceeding fifteen
years, with a mandatory minimum sentence of three years to be imposed if his
probation was revoked. The sentence was suspended, and he was placed on
probation, subject to certain conditions.
1 Ockenfels also pled guilty to possession of a controlled substance third offense
as a habitual offender, in violation of Iowa Code section 124.401(5). He does not
challenge the possession conviction on appeal.
2 An Alford plea is a variation of a guilty plea where the defendant does not admit
participation in the acts constituting the crime but consents to the imposition of a
sentence. See North Carolina v. Alford, 400 U.S. 25, 37 (1970).
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Ockenfels later stipulated to violating the terms of probation. The district
court revoked his probation and ordered him incarcerated for prison terms not
exceeding fifteen years on the burglary and forgery convictions, subject to the
mandatory three-year minimum on the forgery count, to be served concurrently.
Ockenfels filed a postconviction-relief application asserting “crimes were
charged that did not even happen.” During an evidentiary hearing, Ockenfels’
attorney framed the issues as follows: (1) with respect to the burglary charge, plea
“counsel was ineffective when clearly Mr. Ockenfels provided the facts of a
compulsion defense and nobody ever did anything” and (2) “if the [c]ourt were to
find that [plea counsel] did not advise [Ockenfels] properly [in the forgery case],
then that would certainly form the basis of an ineffective-assistance-of-counsel
claim.” Postconviction counsel did not characterize his challenge to the burglary
conviction as a freestanding claim of actual innocence, and he acknowledged a
claim of actual innocence on the forgery count would be difficult to prove in light of
Ockenfels’ Alford plea. See Schmidt v. State, 909 N.W.2d 778, 793–94 (Iowa
2018) (recognizing freestanding claims of actual innocence). Following an
evidentiary hearing, the district court denied the application, including any claims
of actual innocence.
II. Analysis
On appeal, Ockenfels does not pursue the denial of his actual-innocence
claims. He challenges both convictions under an ineffective-assistance-of-counsel
rubric. To succeed, Ockenfels must show counsel engaged in deficient
performance and prejudice resulted. See Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668,
687 (1984). The district court underscored the absence of prejudice, citing the
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significant sentencing concessions Ockenfels received by virtue of the pleas. We
elect to focus on the breach prong of the Strickland test.
A. Burglary Conviction
Ockenfels argues he “received ineffective assistance of [plea] counsel . . .
based on counsel’s failure to inform him . . . about the sudden emergency defense
or the compulsion defense” to the burglary charge, rendering his “guilty plea . . .
not knowing and voluntary.” He does not elaborate on the “sudden emergency
defense.” Accordingly, we deem that matter waived. See Iowa R. App.
P. 6.903(2)(g)(3) (“Failure to cite authority in support of an issue may be deemed
waiver of that issue.”).
Turning to the compulsion defense, Iowa Code section 704.10 states:
No act, other than an act by which one intentionally or
recklessly causes physical injury to another, is a public offense if the
person so acting is compelled to do so by another’s threat or menace
of serious injury, provided that the person reasonably believes that
such injury is imminent and can be averted only by the person doing
such act.
See State v. El-Amin, 952 N.W.2d 134, 140 n.3 (Iowa 2020) (setting forth defense).
To establish a prima facie case of compulsion, a defendant must prove four
elements:
(1) defendant was under an unlawful and present, imminent, and
impending threat of such a nature as to induce a well-grounded
apprehension of death or serious bodily injury;
(2) that defendant had not recklessly or negligently placed himself in
a situation in which it was probable that he would be forced to commit
a criminal act;
(3) that the defendant had no reasonable, legal alternative to
violating the law; and
(4) that a direct causal relationship may be reasonably anticipated
between the commission of the criminal act and the avoidance of the
threatened harm.
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State v. Walker, 671 N.W.2d 30, 35 (Iowa Ct. App. 2003) (citation omitted).
Our de novo review of the record reveals the following pertinent facts.
Ockenfels testified bails bondsmen were looking for him because he “missed a
court date.” When “they rolled up into [his] driveway,” he “took off” because he
believed “there was a better way to go to jail than beat up” and he was “just looking
for a hole to dive into.” He entered a neighboring home that was under
construction, took and put on a shirt that did not belong to him, and ran out of a
side door.
Ockenfels testified he informed his plea attorney and the plea-taking court
of these facts and he pled guilty to the burglary charge because he believed his
actions were illegal. He later learned that the compulsion defense rendered it
“legal to enter a structure . . . if you’re in fear of your safety.” He testified his
attorney failed to apprise him of the defense.
Ockenfels’ plea attorney did not testify at the postconviction hearing.
Accordingly, we accept Ockenfels’ undisputed testimony concerning counsel’s
nondisclosure of the defense as well as his description of the facts he conveyed to
counsel. Even with those facts, Ockenfels failed to establish the third element of
the compulsion defense—whether he “had no reasonable, legal alternative to
violating the law.” Specifically, he did not explain why “the hole” he felt he needed
to “dive into” had to be an occupied structure that he admittedly lacked the owner’s
permission to enter and from which he stole a shirt. Having failed to establish the
third element, the compulsion defense was unavailable to him and Ockenfels’
attorney did not breach an essential duty in failing to inform him of the defense.
See Frye v. State, No. 19-0433, 2020 WL 6480880, at *1 (Iowa Ct. App. Nov. 4,
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2020) (concluding counsel “did not breach a duty by in advising . . . that the defense
of compulsion was unavailable”). We affirm the district court’s denial of this
ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claim.
B. Forgery Conviction
Under Iowa Code section 715A.2(1),
1. A person is guilty of forgery if, with intent to defraud or injure
anyone, or with knowledge that the person is facilitating a fraud or
injury to be perpetrated by anyone, the person does any of the
following:
a. Alters a writing of another without the other’s permission.
b. Makes, completes, executes, authenticates, issues, or
transfers a writing so that it purports to be the act of another who did
not authorize that act, or so that it purports to have been executed at
a time or place or in a numbered sequence other than was in fact the
case, or so that it purports to be a copy of an original when no such
original existed.
c. Utters a writing which the person knows to be forged in a
manner specified in paragraph “a” or “b”.
d. Possesses a writing which the person knows to be forged
in a manner specified in paragraph “a” or “b”.
Ockenfels argues he “received ineffective assistance of counsel . . . as counsel
failed to inform [him] that knowledge is required to commit the crime of forgery.”
The district court found otherwise. The court stated:
In preparation for the plea hearing, [Ockenfels’ plea attorney
in the forgery case] credibl[y] testified that he not only provided
[Ockenfels] with a written copy of the law on forgery, but additionally,
he also specifically informed [Ockenfels] of the knowledge
requirement. The court finds [the attorney’s] testimony to be the
more credible on this point. In fact, during the plea colloquy,
[Ockenfels] heaped praise on [his attorney] including stating “I hope
to make the court aware that [he] is a man I find a glowing credit to
his profession.” He additionally described [the attorney] as “he
listens well, so he counsels well, and I believe he deserves rewarded
well.”
In addition, during the plea colloquy, the court clearly and
unequivocally advised [Ockenfels] of what needed to be established
by the State in order to prove him guilty, including the knowledge
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requirement. [Ockenfels] has failed to meet his burden of proof on
this claim.
On our de novo review, we agree with the district court’s findings.
At the postconviction hearing, Ockenfels’ lawyer was asked if, in preparation
for felony plea hearings, he advised “clients of what the State would have to prove.”
He responded, “I do.” He stated he normally “print[ed] out . . . the relevant code
section” and followed up with “a face-to-face” visit to ensure “they ha[d] an
understanding of it.” He testified to following that procedure in Ockenfels’ case
and said he specifically explained the knowledge requirement and whether
Ockenfels knew “or should have known . . . that [the bills found in his wallet] were
not legitimate bills.”
At the plea hearing, the court asked the prosecutor to outline the elements
of forgery. The prosecutor responded,
Your Honor, the forgery in this matter is based on the
defendant’s possession of a number of counterfeit federal reserve
notes. So the forgery would be that on or about August 13, 2016,
the State would have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the
defendant knowingly possessed forged counterfeit reserve notes
knowing that they were forged and that he did so with the intent to
facilitate a fraud or to commit a fraud.
The court asked Ockenfels’ attorney if he agreed with the prosecutor’s summary.
Counsel responded that he did. The court next asked Ockenfels if he understood
the nature of the offense and the penalties. Ockenfels responded, “I believe I do,
Your Honor.”
We conclude counsel informed Ockenfels of the knowledge element of
forgery and, accordingly, did not breach an essential duty in advising Ockenfels
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about the elements of the crime. We affirm the district court’s denial of this
ineffective-assistance claim.
We affirm the denial of Ockenfels’ postconviction-relief application.
AFFIRMED.