Opinion
No. 3-734 / 02-1909
Filed November 17, 2003
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Decatur County, Darrell Goodhue, Judge.
Linda Smith appeals her convictions for manufacture of methamphetamine and possession of ether with the intent to manufacture a controlled substance. AFFIRMED.
Linda Del Gallo, State Appellate Defender, and Martha Lucey, Assistant Appellate Defender, for appellant.
Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, Sharon Hall, Assistant Attorney General, and Carol Clark, County Attorney, for appellee.
Considered by Vogel, P.J., and Mahan and Zimmer, JJ.
Linda Smith appeals her convictions for manufacturing methamphetamine, in violation of Iowa Code section 124.401(1)(b)(7) (2001), and possession of ether with the intent to manufacture a controlled substance, in violation of section 124.401(4)(c). On appeal, she claims she received ineffective assistance of counsel due to: (1) the elicitation of statements regarding her right to remain silent; (2) the introduction of evidence regarding her prior conviction on drug charges; (3) the failure to object to the admission of evidence of her indigency; and (4) the failure to adequately explain the penalty on the manufacturing charge which would have allowed her to make an intelligent choice between making a plea or going to trial.
In order to show ineffective assistance of counsel, a defendant must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that (1) counsel failed to perform an essential duty and (2) prejudice resulted therefrom. State v. Biddle, 652 N.W.2d 191, 203 (Iowa 2002). We generally preserve ineffective assistance claims for postconviction proceedings to permit development of the record and to give counsel an opportunity to respond to defendant's claims. State v. Ruesga, 619 N.W.2d 377, 384 (Iowa 2000).
The record in this case is inadequate for us to address defendant's claims on direct appeal. Therefore, we preserve Smith's claims of ineffective assistance of counsel for possible postconviction proceedings.