Opinion
No. 2-701 / 02-0081
Filed September 25, 2002
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Scott County, David E. Schoenthaler, Judge.
Defendant appeals from conviction and sentence for lascivious acts with a child. AFFIRMED.
Linda Del Gallo, State Appellate Defender, and Shellie L. Knipfer, Assistant Appellate Defender, for appellant.
Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, Jean C. Pettinger, Assistant Attorney General, William E. Davis, County Attorney, and Robert E. Weinberg and Julie Walton, Assistant County Attorneys, for appellee.
Considered by Sackett, P.J., and Vogel and Mahan, JJ.
Joseph Stewart was charged with sexual abuse in the second degree. Pursuant to a plea agreement, the State amended the trial information to include the lesser charge of lascivious acts with a child, and Stewart pled guilty to lascivious acts in exchange for dismissal of the sexual abuse charge. Stewart appeals, claiming counsel was ineffective in four particulars.
Stewart first claims counsel was ineffective for allowing him to plead guilty to lascivious acts without informing him the statute of limitations had expired as to that charge. We find this claim should be preserved for possible postconviction relief proceedings. See State v. DeCamp, 622 N.W.2d 290, 296 (Iowa 2001) ("Ineffective assistance of counsel claims presented on direct appeal are typically preserved for postconviction relief proceedings to allow for a full development of the facts surrounding the conduct of counsel."). However, we decline to preserve Stewart's remaining ineffective assistance of counsel claims. In each case he has failed to state his claims with sufficient specificity, and we find all three claims too general to either address on direct review or to preserve for postconviction proceedings. See Dunbar v. State, 515 N.W.2d 12, 15 (Iowa 1994) (finding a defendant must state the specific way in which counsel's performance was deficient and identify how competent representation probably would have changed the outcome).