Opinion ID: 1837614
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Trial Information & Minutes of Testimony

Text: Dalton first contends he was denied effective assistance of counsel because his trial attorney failed to file a motion to dismiss after the State filed the trial information, which Dalton claims inadequately specified the crime for which he was charged. In support of his claim, Dalton alleges the trial information only references Iowa Code section 707.6A and does not specify the subsection under which Dalton was ultimately convicted. As a result, Dalton claims he was charged with the wrong offense. A review of the record reveals, however, that the county attorney did cite a subsection in the trial information: 707.6A(2). To the extent Dalton's argument should be understood as a complaint that the trial information did not charge Dalton with the paragraph under which he was convicted, 707.6A(2)( a ), this would not constitute charging Dalton with the wrong offense; the only possible complaint is that Dalton was not charged specifically enough. The Iowa Rules of Criminal Procedure, however, do not explicitly require the State to charge the defendant with a specific paragraph. Our concern is whether the defendant was alert[ed] ... generally to the source and nature of the evidence against him. State v. Lord, 341 N.W.2d 741, 742 (Iowa 1983) (quoting State v. Walker, 281 N.W.2d 612, 614 (Iowa 1979)); see State v. Grice, 515 N.W.2d 20, 23 (Iowa 1994) (The purpose of an indictment or trial information is to apprise the defendant of the crime charged so that the defendant may have the opportunity to prepare a defense.). Employing a caseby-case analysis, we must determine whether the trial information and minutes of testimony are specific enough to afford the defendant a full and fair statement of a witness' expected testimony; the State need not detail each circumstance of the testimony. See Lord, 341 N.W.2d at 742; see also State v. McConnell, 178 N.W.2d 386, 388 (Iowa 1970) (taking into consideration minutes of testimony in order to remedy supposed defect in trial information); Grice, 515 N.W.2d at 23 (minutes of evidence must also be considered to determine whether defendant is adequately apprised of a charge). Taking into consideration the minutes of testimony, we hold the trial information is sufficient. When read in conjunction with the minutes of testimony, the trial information clearly indicated which paragraph was involved. Section 707.6A(2) has only two paragraphs, and the latter, 707.6A(2)( b ), is wholly unsupported by the minutes of testimony; 707.6A(2)( b ) categorizes as a class C felony vehicular homicide resulting from eluding the police. Nor is there any indication the defendant was not fully apprised of the charge against him and suffered prejudice as a result. Because any motion to dismiss for lack of specificity in the trial information would have lacked merit, Dalton's trial attorney did not fail to perform an essential duty, and thus his ineffective assistance claim must be rejected. State v. Liddell, 672 N.W.2d 805, 811 (Iowa 2003). Dalton further alleges he was denied effective assistance of counsel because his trial attorney failed to object to the minutes of testimony, which he claims were inadequate to support a conviction. Because we rejected Dalton's sufficiency-ofthe-evidence claim, and, in our analysis, considered only the minutes of testimony, we must necessarily reject this argument, as well, for the same reasons.