State of Iowa v. Carlos Hernandez Ventura
State of Iowa v. Carlos Hernandez Ventura
Opinion
Carlos Hernandez Ventura appeals from his three convictions for first-degree murder. On appeal, Hernandez Ventura maintains the district court abused its discretion in denying his motion to strike a juror for cause. He also maintains the district court erred in refusing to instruct the jury on the defense of necessity and that the instruction informing the jury the defense of compulsion was not available to him should have included language that evidence relevant to that defense may still be relevant to other issues in the case.
Motion to Strike. During voir dire, Hernandez Ventura challenged for cause a potential juror on the grounds the potential juror could not be fair and impartial toward him. See Iowa R. Crim. P. 2.18(5)(k) (allowing either the State or the defendant to challenge a juror for cause when the potential juror has "formed or expressed such an opinion as to the guilt or innocence of the defendant as would prevent the juror from rendering a true verdict upon the evidence submitted at trial"). The district court denied Hernandez Ventura's motion, ruling:
I think the question is whether or not a juror has a-not whether they have a preconceived opinion, but whether they have a preconceived opinion that they cannot lay aside.
And I think [the potential juror] has indicated that she believes she can listen to the evidence in the case and make a decision based on the evidence and the instructions of the court.
Defense counsel ultimately used a peremptory strike to remove the juror from the panel. Hernandez Ventura asks us to revisit our supreme court's ruling in
State v. Neuendorf
,
While we are not at liberty to revisit precedent, our supreme court recently revisited
Neuendorf
in
State v. Jonas
,
Here, even if we assume without deciding that the district court's denial of Hernandez Ventura's for-cause challenge was an abuse of discretion, Hernandez Ventura is not entitled to a new trial. First, Hernandez Ventura did not have the benefit of
Jonas's
requirement of requesting an additional peremptory strike at the time of his trial and did not ask for an additional peremptory challenge after his had been exhausted.
1
Thus, we apply the
Neuendorf
standard and do not presume prejudice. In order to obtain relief, Hernandez Ventura has the burden to establish "that the jury that did serve in the case was not impartial ... based on matters that appear o[n] record."
Neuendorf
,
Jury Instructions. Hernandez Ventura makes a two-part challenge to the jury instructions. First, he maintains the district court was in error in denying his request to instruct the jury on the defense of necessity. Second, he claims that the instruction informing the jury the defense of compulsion was not available to him should have included language that evidence relevant to that defense may still be relevant to other issues in the case.
We review the district court's refusal to give a jury instruction for correction of errors at law.
See
Alcala v. Marriott Int'l, Inc.
,
We consider Hernandez Ventura's argument about the necessity-defense instruction first. "Ordinarily, the district court must instruct on a defendant's theory of defense provided the defendant makes a timely request, the requested theory of the defense instruction is supported by the evidence, and the requested instruction is a correct statement of the law."
State v. Ross
,
Here, we agree with the district court that Hernandez Ventura had not created a fact question sufficient to submit the theory to the jury. "The necessity defense does not apply except in emergency situations where the threatened harm is immediate and the threatened disaster imminent."
Next, we consider Hernandez Ventura's claim that the district court erred in refusing to include in the instruction that informed the jury that a defense of compulsion was not applicable language that evidence relevant to the defense of compulsion may be relevant to other issues in the case. Based on his request for the additional language, Hernandez Ventura was concerned the jury would read the instruction saying the compulsion defense was not available, "therefore, he is guilty. And move on." As we understand this argument, he was concerned the instructions would shift the burden of proof. But the trial court is not required to use the language or wording suggested by the parties.
Knauss v. City of Des Moines
,
AFFIRMED.
We are unconcerned that Jonas was decided after Hernandez Ventura's trial but before his appeal, as we apply the same test in either situation. Before Jonas , Hernandez Ventura had the burden to establish that his jury was not impartial to create a presumption of prejudice under Neuendorf. After Jonas , because Hernandez Ventura did not request the additional peremptory strike, we still apply the actual prejudice test of Neuendorf .
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.