Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Canal Sexting Ruling
Canal Sexting Ruling
No. 07–1051
STATE OF IOWA,
Appellee,
vs.
Appellant.
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Dallas County, Virginia
WIGGINS, Justice.
minor in violation of Iowa Code section 728.2 (2005) and whether his
evidence was sufficient to support his conviction and his trial counsel
was not ineffective, we affirm the decision of the court of appeals and the
school, received two photographs via e-mail from Jorge Canal. Canal
was eighteen years of age and attended the same school when this
the other was a photograph of his face. A text message attached to the
C.E. and Canal were friends and had known each other for roughly
a year before Canal sent the photograph of his erect penis. They both
associated with the same group of friends. C.E. generally hung out with
teenagers older than herself. Both Canal and C.E. acknowledged they
were only friends. Canal sent the photograph of his erect penis only after
C.E. asked him to send a photograph of his penis three or four times in
the same phone call. C.E. received the photograph on her e-mail
account, viewed it, and thought she had deleted it. C.E. testified the
photograph was sent only as a joke because some of her friends were
doing it. She further testified that she did not ask for the photograph as
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a means to excite any feelings. Finally, C.E. testified that she asked for a
use, found the photographs and forwarded them to her husband. C.E.’s
knew the officer because C.E.’s father used to be a reserve officer for the
police department. The State charged Canal with violating Iowa Code
The case was tried to a jury. The jury found Canal guilty of
the department of corrections for one year. The court also instructed
Stessman, 460 N.W.2d 461, 462 (Iowa 1990) (holding there is no right of
district court does not exist). Canal subsequently violated the terms of
his probation, and the court revoked Canal’s deferred judgment. The
court sentenced him to nineteen days in jail. Canal also had to pay a
II. Issues.
Second, he claims his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to request a
jury instruction informing the jury that mere nudity is not sufficient to
establish obscenity.
correction of errors at law. State v. Millsap, 704 N.W.2d 426, 430 (Iowa
2005). The goal of the court is to determine whether the evidence could
convince a rational trier of fact that the defendant is guilty of the crime
231 (Iowa 2001). The court views the evidence in the light most favorable
because it has its basis in the Sixth Amendment to the United States
Canal did not object to the instructions given to the jury at trial.
Therefore, the jury instructions become the law of the case for purposes
of our review of the record for sufficiency of the evidence. See State v.
Ondayog, 722 N.W.2d 778, 783–84 (Iowa 2006) (citing State v. Taggart,
430 N.W.2d 423, 425 (Iowa 1988)) (stating except in a claim for
jury instructions, which were not objected to, become the law of the
minor as follows:
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1. On or about the 15th day of May, 2005, the defendant
knowingly disseminated or exhibited obscene material
to C.E.
obscenity, but adds the phrase “with respect to what is suitable material
for minors.” See Miller v. California, 413 U.S. 15, 24–25, 93 S. Ct. 2607,
New York, 390 U.S. 629, 636–37, 88 S. Ct. 1274, 1279, 20 L. Ed. 2d 195,
202 (1968). See Erznoznik v. City of Jacksonville, 422 U.S. 205, 212, 95
S. Ct. 2268, 2274, 45 L. Ed. 2d 125, 133 (1975) (“It is well settled that a
adults.”).
(citation omitted). In Erzonoznik, the Court found that “all nudity cannot
breasts, or human bare pubic area was shown, if visible from a public
holding this ordinance invalid, the Court still stated it would not
jurors are allowed to draw on their own knowledge of the views of the
average person in the community or vicinage from which they come when
L. Ed. 2d at 434.
in the light most favorable to the State, the question we must resolve is
whether, under this record, a rational juror could find Canal guilty
to a minor. Canal took one photograph of his face and one photograph of
attached a text message to the photograph of his face that said, “I love
you.”
Although Canal argued to the jury the material he sent C.E. only
with respect to what is suitable material for minors, that the material
the-evidence review, our task is not to refind the facts. Moreover, on this
different community may have found this material not to be obscene, the
evidence in this record was sufficient for this jury to determine, under its
own community standards, that the material Canal sent to C.E. was
obscene.
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V. Ineffective-Assistance-of-Counsel Claim.
Canal also claims his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to
did not properly instruct the jury on the applicable law and rendered its
counsel, Canal must prove: (1) his counsel failed to perform an essential
duty and (2) prejudice resulted. Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668,
687, 104 S. Ct. 2052, 2064, 80 L. Ed. 2d 674, 693 (1984). To prove
result of the proceeding would have been different.” Id. at 694, 104
that the result would have been different, Canal “ ‘need only show that
in the outcome.” ’ ” Bowman v. State, 710 N.W.2d 200, 206 (Iowa 2006)
perform an essential duty. “It is well settled that a trial court need not
correctly covered when all the instructions are read together.” State v.
Uthe, 542 N.W.2d 810, 815 (Iowa 1996). Based on the definitions of
The court told the jury that a depiction of a person’s genitals was
effectively instructed the jury that mere nudity does not constitute
obscenity. Although the court could have phrased the instruction to say,
“mere nudity does not constitute obscenity,” Canal’s trial counsel did not
(Iowa 2008).
VI. Disposition.
the district court because the evidence was sufficient to support Canal’s
All justices concur except Streit and Baker, JJ., who take no part.