State Of Iowa Vs. Jennifer Lynn Schuler

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF IOWA
No. 07–0954
Filed September 4, 2009
STATE OF IOWA,
Appellee,
vs.
JENNIFER LYNN SCHULER,
Appellant.
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Black Hawk County,
Bruce B. Zager, Judge.
Defendant challenges conviction for willful injury causing serious
injury alleging an error in the jury instructions. REVERSED AND
REMANDED.
Mark C. Smith, State Appellate Defender, and Nan Jennisch,
Assistant State Appellate Defender, for appellant.
Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, Elisabeth S. Reynoldson,
Assistant Attorney General, Thomas J. Ferguson, County Attorney, and
James Katcher, Assistant County Attorney, for appellee.

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PER CURIAM.
In 2007 the defendant, Jennifer Lynn Schuler, was convicted of
willful injury causing serious injury. She now appeals alleging that her
conviction was predicated on erroneous jury instructions. Schuler
asserts that the instruction for willful injury causing serious injury failed
to set forth the elements of the crime as established by Iowa Code section
708.4(1) (2005). Specifically, she alleges that the instruction
impermissibly lowered the State’s burden of proof by requiring it to prove
only that the victim “sustained” a serious injury instead of demonstrating
that her actions “caused” a serious injury.
This same issue was addressed in a companion case decided
today, State v. Schuler, ____ N.W.2d ____ (Iowa 2009). Based on the
reasoning contained in Schuler, the defendant’s conviction is reversed,
and the case remanded to the district court for a new trial.
REVERSED AND REMANDED.
All justices concur except Streit, J., who takes no part.
This opinion is not to be published.

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