Below you will find summaries of some of Dean Stowers' more noteworthy successful appeals:
Appellate Case Summaries
United States v. Cabrera-Rivera, First Circuit Case No. No. 08-1702 (2009)
In a Puerto Rican District Court, Mr. Cabrera-Rivera was found guilty on three counts connected with the robbery of an armored truck in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. Dean Stowers appealed Mr. Cabrera-Rivera's convictions in the First Circuit Court of Appeals on the basis that the district court permitted the government, over objection, to use the out-of-court statements of Cabrera-Rivera's accused accomplices as evidence of his guilt. The First Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with Mr. Stowers and found that Cabrera-Rivera's Confrontation Clause rights were violated by the admission of hearsay evidence. All Cabrera-Rivera's convictions were vacated and a new trial was ordered.
Doug Cornelius
The saga of Mr. Cornelius' three appeals illustrates the tenacious, never-quit representation that Dean Stowers provides his clients. Dean first became involved in representing Mr. Cornelius, who was convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm following the first appellate decision of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals that supported the government's argument that Cornelius was subject to being sentenced under the Armed Career Criminal Act and as a Career Offender under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines to a term of up to life as opposed to the penalty for his offense of conviction alone, not more than 10 years. See 931 F.2d 490 (8th Cir. 1991). This outcome would have led to a sentence of 30 years for Cornelius.
Dean then represented Cornelius at his resentencing hearing and raised a number of issues not raised previously concerning whether Cornelius was in fact an Armed Career Criminal and a Career Offender. The trial judge disagreed with those arguments and sentenced Cornelius to 30 years because he believed he was bound to follow the first appeal decision and could not consider new arguments or allow Cornelius to attack the constitutional validity of his 1970 burglary conviction, sustained at age 17. In the appeal the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with the arguments of Dean and ruled that the district court erred in refusing to consider the new arguments Cornelius had raised at resentencing as to whether he was an Armed Career Criminal. The Eighth Circuit also found that Cornelius was entitled to collaterally attack the constitutional validity of his 1970 conviction. Cornelius' case was again remanded for resentencing. See 968 F.2d 703 (8th Cir. 1992).
At Cornelius' second resentencing, Dean again argued that the sentencing judge should not consider Cornelius' 1970 burglary conviction because Cornelius did not waive two of his three fundamental rights as required by Boykin v. Alabama, 395 U.S. 238 (1969). The judge disagreed and Dean again appealed Cornelius' sentence to the Eighth Circuit. The Eighth Circuit agreed with Dean and found that the 1970 burglary conviction could not be used to enhance Cornelius' sentence, making him subject to a ten year maximum penalty. 999 F.2d 1293 (8th Cir. 1993).
In Cornelius' third resentencing Dean successfully argued that Cornelius was neither a Career Offender nor an Armed Career Criminal and that he had actually served more time from his initial arrest to that date than provided for under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. Cornelius was then sentenced to time served and was released in the courtroom.
Click here to view 1st appeal full opinion
Click here to view 2nd appeal full opinion
Click here to view 3rd appeal full opinion
Huyser v. Iowa District Court for Marion County, 499 N.W.2d 1 (Iowa 1993)
A trial court held Mr. Huyser in contempt after finding he willfully failed to pay child support. Dean Stowers sought petition for certiorari from the Iowa Supreme Court because Huyser's non-payment was the result of a private agreement with his ex-wife that he had relied upon in good faith in not making the payments. Even though Mr. Huyser's private agreement was unenforceable because it was not approved by a court order at the time, Dean argued Huyser was not acting willfully by relying on this agreement. The Iowa Supreme Court agreed with Dean's arguments and vacated the judgment of contempt.
Ginsberg v. Iowa Department of Transportation, 508 N.W.2d 663 (Iowa 1993)
Mr. Ginsberg had his driver's license revoked after he allegedly refused to submit to a breath test following his arrest for operating while intoxicated. Dean Stowers asserted that Ginsberg was merely asserting his right to an independent test and that assertion of this right was not a refusal of the officer's request. The Iowa Supreme Court agreed with Dean and held that Ginsberg's request that his blood or urine be tested was not a "refusal", but rather an assertion of his statutory right to independent testing.
U.S. v. O'Conner, 64 F.3d 355 (8th Cir. 1995)
Mr. O'Conner was convicted on charges of cocaine distribution and conspiracy to distribute cocaine. Dean Stowers became involved after trial and assisted in presenting a new trial motion based upon wrongfully withheld evidence. The trial court denied Mr. O'Connor's new trial motion and sentenced him to ten years. Dean appealed to the Eighth Circuit, arguing that the government had denied a fair trial by failing to inform Mr. O'Conner and his trial counsel of threats by one government witness against another "to get his story straight" and of attempts to influence a second government witness similarly. The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed this evidence was exculpatory under Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (1963) because it showed the witnesses were colluding on their testimony. Mr. O'Connor was ordered to receive a new trial. Mr. O'Connor was then released from federal custody and the case was resolved with Mr. O'Connor receiving a sentence of time served and probation upon a lesser charge.
U.S. v. Halter, 217 F.3d 551 (8 th Cir. 2000)
Prior to the decision in Bailey v. U.S., 516 U.S. 137 (1995), Mr. Halter plead guilty to conspiracy to distribute, using and carrying a firearm during a drug offense, and money laundering. The trial judge agreed with Dean Stowers that Halter's plea to the using and carrying a firearm during a drug offense was constitutionally invalid because Halter had not admitted to "actively employing" a firearm. However, the trial judge declined to set aside his mandatory five year sentence for the gun offense because the judge believed Halter had to demonstrate his actual innocence on dismissed drug trafficking charges that the judge believed were "more serious" due to their maximum penalties. Dean argued on the appeal to the Eighth Circuit that those dismissed counts would have had no effect on Halter's sentence by virtue of their treatment under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. The Eighth Circuit agreed with Dean and found that the actual punishment as determined by the Sentencing Guidelines was the proper basis for identifying the "more serious charge." Halter's gun conviction was vacated and the case was remanded for resentencing. Upon resentencing, Halter received a significantly shorter sentence.
U.S. v. Moyer, 244 F.3d 666 (8 th Cir. 2001)
Mr. Moyer was charged with conspiracy to commit armed bank robbery, armed bank robbery, use of a firearm in relation to a crime of violence, and unlawful possession of a firearm. Dean Stowers requested the trial judge to bar the government's DNA testing of saliva extracted from the robbers' ski masks because it was disclosed on the eve of trial. The district court granted this motion finding that the exclusion of the DNA evidence was appropriate as a sanction for the government's failure to comply with the discovery rule. The Government appealed this decision. The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit held that the district court did not abuse its discretion in excluding the DNA evidence and that the trial judge had discretion to take into account the disruption to his own schedule caused by the late disclosure which would have necessitated a delay of the trial. Mr. Moyer and his codefendants received substantial benefit from this ruling in their plea agreements reached following the case being won on appeal.
State v. Hager, 630 N.W.2d 828 (Iowa 2001)
Mrs. Hager was charged with terrorism and going armed with intent as a result of a bizarre shooting incident and vehicle chase. Mrs. Hager strenuously contested any wrongdoing, believing her actions were justified by her beliefs. After the trial court's deadline to accept a plea had passed and on the morning of trial, Mrs. Hager accepted a new plea agreement offered by the County Attorney whereby she would be able to enter an Alford plea, a type of plea that does not require an admission of guilt. The trial court would not allow Mrs. Hager to accept the Alford plea because the judges in Polk County had adopted a fixed policy against trial date pleas in the interests of judicial economy. Mrs. Hager was then forced into a trial and was convicted of felonies requiring her incarceration upon the adverse verdicts of the jury and which further required the imposition of prison time. Dean Stowers undertook this appeal. The Iowa Supreme Court agreed with Dean's argument that the trial judge abused his discretion by relying on the fixed judicial policy against trial date pleas because the judge was required to consider each defendant and the circumstances in the exercise of it's discretion. Mrs. Hager's convictions were set aside and she was released from prison, whereupon Mrs. Hager was allowed to accept the County Attorney's original misdemeanor plea agreement with a sentence of probation.
U.S. v. Cruz, 285 F.3d 692 (8 th Cir. 2002)
Mr. Cruz was convicted of conspiring to distribute methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Dean Stowers argued vigorously that there was simply no evidence to connect Mr. Cruz to the drugs, gun, or the crimes. Dean appealed Mr. Cruz's convictions and all Mr. Cruz's convictions were reversed. The Eighth Circuit held that the evidence was insufficient to prove that Mr. Cruz had constructive possession of the house where police had found methamphetamine, that the evidence was insufficient to prove that Mr. Cruz resided in the house, and that the evidence was insufficient to support Mr. Cruz's convictions for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.
State v. Esse, 2005 WL2367779 (Iowa App. Sept. 28, 2005)
Dean Stowers represented Mr. Esse in an appeal from Mr. Esse's convictions and life sentence for murder in the first degree and robbery in the first degree. Among other things, Dean argued that the trial judge had erred in refusing to instruct the jury that the statements made by Esse's interrogators asserting facts and speculative theories not shown in the trial evidence were not to be considered as true because the interrogator statements were prejudicial speculation and hearsay. The Iowa Court of Appeals agreed with Dean and all Mr. Esse's convictions were vacated. Mr. Esse was found not guilty at his retrial wherein the limiting instruction was given.