Guillermo Escobedo v. State of Iowa
Guillermo Escobedo v. State of Iowa
Opinion
Guillermo Gutierrez Escobedo appeals the district court decision denying his request for postconviction relief. Escobedo claims the verdict was rendered void by the substitution of a juror after deliberations began. He also claims recent case law regarding jury instructions should be applied retroactively to reverse his conviction and grant a new trial. We find Escobedo is barred from relitigating the issue of juror substitution and Escobedo did not preserve error regarding the new case law. We affirm the district court.
I. Background Facts and Proceedings
Escobedo and a friend, Cesar Herrate, hosted a party on January 14, 1995. During the party a guest named Kaski and another guest began to argue and fight. A third guest, Younie, attempted to prevent the situation from escalating. Escobedo and Herrate took meat-packing knives from the kitchen and stabbed Younie repeatedly. Younie died of his wounds, which were described as deep and severe. Kaski was also stabbed but managed to escape. Escobedo told a police officer he attacked the victims "[b]ecause they provoked me. They got us fed up, they said 'F-you,' and that's when I went and got the knife."
During the jury deliberations the State was informed a juror had been overheard in a bar making racially prejudiced remarks regarding Escobedo. The juror was questioned and dismissed. An alternate juror, who had been released, prior to deliberations beginning, was recalled to replace the released juror. Escobedo's trial counsel agreed to the replacement. Escobedo was convicted of first-degree murder, willful injury, and assault causing bodily injury.
Escobedo appealed, and our court affirmed his convictions.
See
State v. Escobedo
,
Escobedo again filed a petition for postconviction relief December 21, 2015. Both the State and Escobedo filed motions for summary judgment. The district court denied Escobedo's motion and granted the State's. Escobedo now appeals.
II. Standard of Review
"The standard of review on appeal from the denial of postconviction relief is for errors at law."
McLaughlin v. State
,
III. Juror Substitution
Escobedo claims his conviction is a nullity and can be challenged at any time as the trial court improperly substituted a discharged juror. However, Escobedo has previously raised this issue. In his direct appeal we found Escobedo agreed to the replacement of the juror and held such an agreement was a waiver of the issue.
Escobedo
,
IV. New Trial
Escobedo also claims the Iowa Supreme Court decision in
State v. Smith
,
AFFIRMED.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.