IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF IOWA
No. 15-0381
Filed November 25, 2015
STATE OF IOWA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
vs.
MATTHEW ALAN LEONARD,
Defendant-Appellant.
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Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Richard G. Blane II,
Judge.
Defendant challenges his sentences for robbery in the second degree and
forgery. AFFIRMED.
Mark C. Smith, State Appellate Defender, and Melinda J. Nye, Assistant
Appellate Defender, for appellant.
Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, and Kevin Cmelik and Kelli Huser,
Assistant Attorneys General, for appellee.
Considered by Danilson, C.J., and Mullins and McDonald, JJ.
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MCDONALD, Judge.
Defendant Matthew Leonard pleaded guilty to two counts of robbery in the
second degree and one count of forgery, in violation of Iowa Code sections
711.1, 711.3, 715A.2(1), and 715A.2(2)(a)(3) (2013). The district court
sentenced him to an indeterminate term of incarceration not to exceed twenty
years with a seventy percent mandatory minimum prior to becoming eligible for
parole. On appeal, Leonard challenges his sentence, contending the district
court considered information outside the record at the time of sentencing, to wit:
the district court considered Leonard’s education history at a local private high
school while expressing familiarity with the reputation of the high school; and the
district court considered Leonard’s substance abuse history in light of the district
court’s familiarity with substance abuse users.
We review Leonard’s challenge to his sentence for an abuse of discretion.
See State v. Seats, 865 N.W.2d 545, 552-53 (Iowa 2015). This is a deferential
standard of review:
“In applying the abuse of discretion standard to sentencing
decisions, it is important to consider the societal goals of
sentencing criminal offenders, which focus on rehabilitation of the
offender and the protection of the community from further offenses.
It is equally important to consider the host of factors that weigh in
on the often arduous task of sentencing a criminal offender,
including the nature of the offense, the attending circumstances,
the age, character and propensity of the offender, and the chances
of reform. . . . The application of these goals and factors to an
individual case, of course, will not always lead to the same
sentence. Yet, this does not mean the choice of one particular
sentencing option over another constitutes error. Instead, it
explains the discretionary nature of judging and the source of the
respect afforded by the appellate process.
Judicial discretion imparts the power to act within legal
parameters according to the dictates of a judge’s own conscience,
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uncontrolled by the judgment of others. It is essential to judging
because judicial decisions frequently are not colored in black and
white. Instead, they deal in differing shades of gray, and discretion
is needed to give the necessary latitude to the decision-making
process. This inherent latitude in the process properly limits our
review. Thus, our task on appeal is not to second guess the
decision made by the district court, but to determine if it was
unreasonable or based on untenable grounds.”
Id. (quoting State v. Formaro, 638 N.W.2d 720, 724-25 (Iowa 2002)).
We conclude the defendant failed to establish the district court abused its
considerable discretion in fashioning and imposing sentence. The challenged
information regarding the defendant’s education history and substance abuse
history was presented to the district court in the presentence investigation report
without objection. See Iowa Code § 901.5 (providing the district court shall
receive and examine “all pertinent information, including the presentence
investigation report”). Further, the defendant’s counsel and the defendant raised
the defendant’s substance abuse history as a potential mitigating factor at the
time of sentencing. While the district court may have made several stray
remarks at the time of sentencing regarding the defendant’s education and
substance abuse history,1 there is no indication the district court relied on
information outside the record when imposing sentencing. See State v. Ashley,
462 N.W.2d 279, 282 (Iowa 1990) (stating it is the defendant’s burden to
establish the sentencing court relied on impermissible information or an
1
The district court’s statement regarding substance abuse was, “if you get into
that—those drugs, then you’re always going to have that problem.” The district
court’s statement was made to inform Leonard he would be facing a lifetime
challenge in response to Leonard’s comment he no longer was an addict.
Leonard later acknowledged he meant he was no longer “using” but he would
always be an addict.
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impermissible factor). The district court specifically identified the factors it
considered in imposing sentence, including the defendant’s age, prior criminal
record, prior employment circumstances, substance abuse history and treatment
as shown in the presentence investigation report, the nature of the offenses, the
plea agreement, the fact there was no recommendation regarding sentencing,
and the protection of the community. None of these factors are considered
impermissible sentencing factors. We thus affirm the defendant’s sentence
without further opinion. See Iowa Ct. R. 21.26(1)(a) and (e).
AFFIRMED.