State of Iowa v. William John Blanchard
State of Iowa v. William John Blanchard
Opinion
William Blanchard challenges his conviction for possession of more than five grams of methamphetamine with intent to deliver, in violation of Iowa Code section 124.401(1)(b)(7) (2017). On appeal, Blanchard contends his plea was not knowingly and voluntarily made due to the ineffective assistance of plea counsel. First, plea counsel failed to provide Blanchard with correct information regarding the sentence for the offense to which Blanchard pleaded guilty. Specifically, counsel incorrectly advised Blanchard he would be eligible to receive a deferred judgment or suspended sentence. Second, plea counsel was ineffective in failing to request a continuance of the plea hearing when it was revealed during the plea hearing that counsel had provided incorrect sentencing information.
To establish a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel, Blanchard must show "(1) his trial counsel failed to perform an essential duty, and (2) this failure resulted in prejudice."
State v. Straw
,
The plea transcript establishes Blanchard's guilty plea was knowing and voluntary. During the plea colloquy, it became apparent Blanchard's counsel had provided Blanchard with incorrect information regarding the sentence. The misinformation was promptly and definitively corrected by the district court during the plea colloquy. The district court informed Blanchard he would be required to go to prison for this offense and there would be a mandatory minimum sentence prior to being eligible for parole. The district court allowed Blanchard to discuss the issue with his counsel off the record. When the parties came back on the record, Blanchard's counsel stated he advised Blanchard if "he needed a couple of weeks" to think about proceeding with the guilty plea, the matter could be continued. Blanchard declined the additional time and decided to proceed with plea and sentencing. The district court advised Blanchard again of the required sentence and made sure Blanchard understood the same. The district court found Blanchard's guilty plea was knowing and voluntary and accepted the plea. The record defeats Blanchard's claim.
See
State v. Nosa
,
Regardless, Blanchard has not established constitutional prejudice. To establish constitutional prejudice, Blanchard is required to prove that "but for counsel's ineffective assistance, he ... would not have pleaded guilty and would have insisted on going to trial."
Diaz v. State
,
We affirm Blanchard's conviction.
AFFIRMED.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.