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Stephen Andrea Marks v. State of Iowa
Citation: Not availableDocket: 18-1869
Court: Court of Appeals of Iowa; November 5, 2019; Iowa; State Appellate Court
Original Court Document: View Document
Stephen Andrea Marks appealed the denial of his postconviction relief (PCR) application following his 2013 conviction for second-degree robbery. He was sentenced to fifteen years in prison, subject to a seventy percent mandatory minimum. In 2016, the Iowa legislature amended Iowa Code section 902.12 to change the parole eligibility for second-degree robbery convictions occurring on or after July 1, 2016, allowing for parole eligibility after serving between one-half and seven-tenths of the sentence, compared to the prior requirement of seven-tenths. Marks argued that the 2016 amendment should apply retroactively to his conviction, claiming that not applying it violated his due process and equal protection rights and constituted cruel and unusual punishment. The district court dismissed his application, leading to his appeal. The Court of Appeals, reviewing the case de novo, affirmed the district court's decision. It held that the legislature has broad authority to set penalties for criminal conduct and that the plain language of the amendment limits its effect to convictions occurring after July 1, 2016. The court found no constitutional basis for applying the amendment retroactively, noting that previous case law supports this position. Marks also made a statutory construction argument regarding the amendment's application, but the court declined to address it as the issue was not preserved for appeal. Ultimately, the court affirmed the denial of Marks's PCR application.