State of Iowa v. Todd Carber

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF IOWA
No. 4-054 / 13-0916
Filed July 16, 2014
STATE OF IOWA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
vs.
TODD CARBER,
Defendant-Appellant.
________________________________________________________________
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Christopher L.
McDonald, Judge.
A defendant appeals his judgment and sentence for serious injury by
vehicle by reckless driving and operating a motor vehicle while under the
influence. He claims the district court erred in finding that it had no discretion to
suspend his sentence. AFFIRMED.
Mark C. Smith, State Appellate Defender, Shellie L. Knipfer, Assistant
Appellate Defender, and John D. Twillman, Student Legal Intern, for appellant.
Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, Sharon K. Hall, Assistant Attorney
General, John P. Sarcone, County Attorney, and Brendan E. Greiner, David
Porter, and Celene Gogerty, Assistant County Attorneys, for appellee.
Heard by Vaitheswaran, P.J., Mullins, J., and Miller, S.J.* McDonald, J.,
takes no part.
*Senior judge assigned by order pursuant to Iowa Code section 602.9206 (2013).
2
VAITHESWARAN, P.J.
Todd Carber entered Alford1 pleas to (1) serious injury by vehicle by
reckless driving and (2) operating a motor vehicle while under the influence. He
filed a motion for adjudication of law points on the question of whether the district
court had authority to suspend his sentence to the first crime. The district court
concluded it lacked authority to suspend the sentence.
On appeal, Carber contends “the district court erred in finding that it had
no discretion to suspend [his] sentence for serious injury by vehicle by reckless
driving when he also pled guilty to operating while under the influence.” Part II A
of our analysis in State v. Rouse, No. 13-0981 (Iowa Ct. App. July 16, 2014), filed
on this date, is controlling.
We conclude the district court lacked discretion to suspend Carber’s
sentence to the serious-injury-by-vehicle-by-reckless-driving count. We affirm
Carber’s judgment and sentence.
AFFIRMED.
1
See North Carolina v. Alford, 400 U.S. 25, 37 (1970) (holding “express admission of
guilt . . . is not a constitutional requisite to the imposition of [a] criminal penalty”).