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State v. Grey12/13/1999
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Black Hawk County, Todd A. Geer, Judge.
Linda Grey appeals her convictions, following a jury trial, for delivery of a controlled substance (marijuana), failure to affix drug tax stamp, and delivery of a controlled substance (marijuana) as an accommodation offense in violation of Iowa Code sections 124.401(1)(d), 453B.12, and 124.410 (1997).
Linda Grey ("Grey") appeals from her convictions, for delivery of a controlled substance, failure to affix drug tax stamp, and delivery of a controlled substance as an accommodation offense in violation of Iowa Code sections 124.401(1)(d), 453B.12, and 124.410 (1997). She contends: (1) she was denied her Sixth Amendment right to counsel when the trial court allowed her trial attorney to represent her as well as her co-defendant, (2) she received ineffective assistance of counsel when counsel failed to conduct pretrial discovery; failed to request a mistrial after prosecutorial misconduct; and failed to object to incorrect and misleading jury instructions, (3) she was denied a fair and impartial trial by recurrent acts of prosecutorial misconduct, (4) she was denied a fair trial when her right to cross-examine a particular witness was prevented by the trial court, and (5) the State deliberately violated her right to confront witnesses and to testify on her own behalf. We reverse and remand for a new trial.
I. Factual Background and Proceedings.
Grey and her husband, Daniel Grey, reside at a motel in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Grey is employed at the motel as the manager on a full-time basis, and Daniel is employed there part-time. On April 18, 1998, Harold Wolff ("Wolff") and his daughter moved into the motel. Wolff was a paid informant hired by the Tri-County Drug Task Force to make drug purchases in the Cedar Falls area. The task force pays Wolff for each buy he completes and provides him with housing and other necessities.
During the time Wolff lived at the motel, he and the Greys became friends. He told the Greys he suffered from back pain, was very poor, and received state assistance. The Greys testified they babysat his daughter, gave him groceries, and allowed him to continue living at the motel when he had not paid his bills because they felt sorry for him.
Mr. Grey is a veteran of the Vietnam War and is partially disabled due to a work-related back injury . He claims the only relief he gets from his back pain is from smoking marijuana. Wolff told the Greys he had medication for his back, but it did not work well. After smelling marijuana in the Greys' residence, Wolff told them marijuana relieved his pain and asked them if they could sell him some. The Greys agreed to provide marijuana to Wolff and an undercover police officer posing as a friend of Wolff. Wolff notified a task force officer about the Greys' willingness to obtain drugs and a purchase was arranged.
Drug sale transactions were completed on May 21, 1997, and on May 23, 1997. At trial, the Greys both acknowledged selling marijuana to Wolff, but asserted entrapment by government agents as a defense. On October 10, 1997, the jury found Grey guilty of all three counts. Grey appeals.
II. Standard of Review.
Grey alleges on appeal that she was denied her Sixth Amendment right to counsel when the district court allowed trial counsel to represent Grey and her husband as co-defendants. She also raises issues of ineffective assistance of counsel. Because Grey raises constitutional issues, our review is de novo. State v. Fox, 491 N.W.2d 527, 530 (Iowa 1992). In our review, we independently evaluate the totality of the circumstances as evidenced by the whole record. St
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