State v. Archer - OWI Appeal Dismissal

Iowa Court of Appeals

Filed April 1st, 2026

Detected April 1st, 2026

Summary

The Iowa Court of Appeals dismissed defendant Jacob Archer's appeal of his OWI sentence. The court held it lacked jurisdiction because Archer failed to establish good cause to appeal, as he received the sentence he agreed to under a plea agreement. Archer attempted to challenge sentencing defects in a related OWI case, but the court found no basis for appeal under Iowa Code section 814.6(1)(a)(3).

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What changed

The Iowa Court of Appeals dismissed appeal No. 24-1387 filed by Jacob Archer. Archer pleaded guilty to OWI third offense and driving while revoked pursuant to a plea agreement in Guthrie County, receiving a concurrent sentence with a prior OWI conviction. Archer attempted to appeal, claiming defects in the sentencing proceeding of the related case. The court found it lacked jurisdiction because Archer failed to establish good cause to appeal—he received the exact sentence agreed to in his plea agreement, which does not constitute good cause under Iowa Code section 814.6(1)(a)(3) and State v. Damme.

This ruling applies only to defendants who have pleaded guilty and received agreed-upon sentences. Defendants wishing to appeal must either plead not guilty or demonstrate good cause independent of challenging an agreed sentence. The court's footnote confirms that Archer's underlying claim regarding the related OWI case was separately rejected on appeal in State v. Archer, No. 24-1305 (Iowa Ct. App. Dec. 17, 2025).

Source document (simplified)

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF IOWA

_______________ No. 24-1387 Filed April 1, 2026 _______________

State of Iowa, Plaintiﬀ–Appellee,

Jacob Dean Archer,

Defendant–Appellant. _______________ Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Guthrie County, The Honorable Virginia Cobb, Judge. _______________

APPEAL DISMISSED

_______________ Thomas Hurd of Hurd Law Firm PLC, Des Moines, attorney for appellant.

Brenna Bird, Attorney General, and Adam Kenworthy, Assistant Attorney

General, attorneys for appellee. _______________ Considered without oral argument by Ahlers, P.J., and Chicchelly and Sandy, JJ. Opinion by Ahlers, P.J.

AHLERS, Presiding Judge.

Pursuant to a plea agreement, Jacob Archer pleaded guilty to operating

while intoxicated (OWI), third or subsequent oﬀense, and driving while

revoked. As part of the plea agreement, the parties agreed to jointly recommend that Archer’s OWI sentence be ordered to be served

concurrently to the sentence he received for a prior OWI, third oﬀense, in a diﬀerent county. The district court imposed the agreed-upon sentence.

Archer appeals. He contends that defects in the sentencing proceeding in his OWI case in the other county somehow constitute a sentencing error in this case due to the sentence here being ordered to be served concurrently to that other sentence. 1

Before considering the merits of Archer’s claim, we must ﬁrst decide

whether we have jurisdiction over his appeal. Because he pleaded guilty to

an oﬀense other than a class “A” felony, Archer must establish good cause to

appeal. See Iowa Code § 814.6(1)(a)(3) (2024). Appealing a sentence—as Archer does here—constitutes good cause, but only if the sentence is discretionary and neither mandatory nor agreed to as part of a plea agreement. See State v. Damme, 944 N.W.2d 98, 105 (Iowa 2020). Archer received the sentence he agreed to under the terms of his plea agreement. Therefore, he has failed to establish good cause to appeal. See, e.g., State v.