IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF IOWA
No. 21

- 1984 Filed March 8, 2023

STATE OF IOWA, Plaintiff

- Appellee,

vs. JOHN DUANE ANDERSON , Defendant

- Appellant.

________________________________________________________________ Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Cass County, Michael Hooper , Judge.

A defendant appeals following the imposition of sentence in three criminal

cases. AFFIRMED AND REMANDED.

Thomas Hurd of Law Office of Thomas Hurd PLC , Des Moines , for appellant.
Brenna Bird , Attorney General, and Bridget A. Chambers , Assistant Attorney General, f or appellee.

Considered by Bower, C.J. , and Greer and Badding, JJ.2

BADDING , Judge

. John Anderson pled guilty to three crimes in just as many separate criminal cases. A presentence investigation report was ordered and completed for use at
the combined sentencing hearing

. Before sentencing, Anderson filed a statement with several attachments , noting a number of “additions, corrections, and objections” to the presentence investigation report

. Given these deficiencies, Anderson asked the court to give the report

— which recommended “an appropriate term of incarceration”

— limited weight at sentencing.
At the start of the sentencing portion of the hearing , the court noted the presentence investigation report was on file and asked the defense if it had an opportunity to review it. The defense responded that it had review ed the report “at length” and directed the court to its statement in supple ment of the report. As Anderson points out in his brief on appeal, his counsel then “spent a great deal of time correcting the presentence investigation” report. When counsel finished, the
court said that it would consider the concerns raised by the defe nse. Later, after the court heard the parties’ sentencing recommendations, the court told defense counsel that he had provided quite a bit of detail that the [presentence investigation report] seemed to be lacking, and have adequately gone over those mit igating factors. And I, in some regard, think you are correct that the [report] could have been more detailed. But the [report] is just one . . . factor the Court utilizes in deciding an appropriate sentence. Before imposing sentence, 1 t he court then discussed other permissible factors, see Iowa Code §§ 901.5, 907.5 (2021), including some specific details from the

1 The court rejected Anderson’s request for suspended sentences with probation and instead sentenced him to prison.3

presentence investigation report, like the risk assessment performed by the judicial district department of correctional services.
Yet the court’s written sentencing orders noted both of the following : (1) “A presentence investigation report is on file and has been distributed to counsel of record,” and (2) “Defendant waived use of a presentence investigation.” But the
order s also noted the “reasons for sentencing , ” as well as “the reasons for imposing consecutive or concurrent sentences , ” included the “[i]nformation and recommendations contained in the presentence investigation report.” Anderson now appeals, arguing “the district court violated due process and abused its discretion in waiving the use of the presentence investigation and sentencing the defendant when the defendant did not waive use of the” report. 2 Relying on the written sentencing order, Anderson submits “the court er roneously determined that [he] waived use of the” report. In response, the State asserts that the notation in the sentencing orders about waiver of the presentence investigation report was simply a clerical error that should be corrected by a nunc pro tun c order. On our review, we agree. “[W]hen the record unambiguously reflects that a clerical error has occurred, we will direct the district court to enter a nunc pro tunc order to correct the judgment entry.” State
v. Hess , 533 N.W.2d 525, 52 7 (Iowa 199 5) . That is exactly what happened here.
The transcript of the sentencing hearing and the court’s statements on the record unambiguously show the waiver statement in the written sentencing orders “ was merely clerical in nature.” Id. at 529

– 29 (“ [W] here t here is a discrepancy between

2 The State agrees Anderson has good cause to appeal following his guilty pleas. See Iowa Code § 814.6(1)(a)(3); State v. Boldon , 954 N.W.2d 62, 69 (Iowa 2021).4

the oral pronouncement of sentence and the written judgment and commitment, the oral pronouncement of sentence controls

. ” (citation omitted) )

. So we affirm the sentences imposed but remand to the district court for entry of a nunc pro tunc order correcting the clerical error that Anderson waived the use of a presentence investigation report.
AFFIRMED AND REMANDED

.