State of Iowa, Appellee v. Andrew James Lopez, Appellant

Summary

The court held that the prosecutor breached the plea agreement by introducing and emphasizing photographs of the child-victim’s injuries in a manner that undermined the agreed recommendation of a deferred judgment and probation. It also held that the victim’s father could submit his own victim-impact statement and that a properly designated guardian ad litem could speak for the child, so long as the prosecutor did not solicit the statement to defeat the recommendation. Because counsel failed to object to the breach, prejudice was presumed, requiring vacation of the sentence and resentencing before a different judge.