State v. Iowa District Court for Polk County

LARSON, Justice.

The State brought this certiorari action to challenge an order by the district court under Iowa Code section 902.4 (1997) “reconsidering” a suspended sentence and substituting an order for a deferred judgment. Because we conclude that a criminal defendant who has been granted a suspended sentence does not qualify for reconsideration under section 902.4, we sustain the writ.

Annie Githens pled guilty on January 18, 1996, to sexual abuse in the third degree in violation of Iowa Code section 709.4 (1995). She was initially sentenced to a term of incarceration not to exceed ten…