IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF IOWA No. 20-1224 Filed November 2, 2022 MAYUAL M. ANYUON, Applicant-Appellant, vs. STATE OF IOWA, Respondent-Appellee. ________________________________________________________________ Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, David Porter, Judge. Applicant appeals the district court’s grant of summary disposition to the State on his application for postconviction relief. REVERSED AND REMANDED. Martha J. Lucey, State Appellate Defender, and Mary K. Conroy and Stephan J. Japuntich (until withdrawal), Assistant Appellate Defenders, for appellant. Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, and Darrel Mullins, Assistant Attorney General, for appellee State. Considered by Bower, C.J., Vaitheswaran, J., and Carr, S.J.* *Senior judge assigned by order pursuant to Iowa Code section 602.9206 (2022). 2 CARR, Senior Judge. Mayual Anyuon appeals the district court’s grant of summary disposition to the State on his application for postconviction relief (PCR). Anyuon claims he received ineffective assistance because defense counsel did not adequately explain the immigration consequences of his guilty plea. We determine there is a genuine issue of material fact on this issue and conclude summary disposition was inappropriate. We reverse the decision of the district court and remand for further proceedings. I. Background Facts & Proceedings On August 1, 2016, Anyuon was charged with possession of marijuana, second offense, in violation of Iowa Code section 124.401(5) (2016). An order continuing the pretrial conference states, “Defendant has Immigration Issues. Need to Consult with Imm. Atty.” Anyuon was personally served with a copy of the order. On October 10, Anyuon signed a written guilty plea to possession of marijuana, second offense. The written guilty plea states in bold, “I understand that if I am not a citizen of the United States that a criminal conviction or deferred judgment may result in Deportation and affect re-entry into the United States or have other adverse immigration consequences under federal immigration laws.” The court accepted Anyuon’s guilty plea. He was sentenced to fourteen days in jail, with credit for ten days served. Anyuon did not appeal his conviction. On March 13, 2019, Anyuon filed a PCR application. The application alleged defense counsel never adequately explained the immigration consequences of the guilty plea. He stated he was “not advis[ed] about the 3 slightest possibility of removal from the U.S.” He also asserted that if he had been informed about possible removal, he would not have pled guilty. Anyuon signed the application and declared the facts within his personal knowledge were true and correct. While the PCR case was pending, Anyuon was removed from the United States and his whereabouts became unknown.1 The State filed a motion for summary disposition. In support of the motion, the State submitted a copy of the public defender’s intake form for Anyuon that states Anyuon was born in South Sudan and was a permanent resident of the United States. The State also submitted a copy of Anyuon’s arraignment, which contains defense counsel’s handwritten notes: 1. I will mail you a copy of the Immigration consequences of crime & checklist. 2. Pay for your evaluation! …
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