State of Iowa v. Martavius Lamon Green

── State of Iowa v. Martavius Lamon Green ── Court: Court of Appeals of Iowa Date: May 13, 2026 Category: General IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF IOWA _______________ No. 25-0440 Filed May 13, 2026 _______________ State of Iowa, Plaintiff–Appellee, v. Martavius Lamon Green, Defendant–Appellant. _______________ Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, The Honorable Joseph Seidlin, Judge. _______________ APPEAL DISMISSED _______________ John C. Heinicke of Kragnes & Associates, P.C., West Des Moines, attorney for appellant. Brenna Bird, Attorney General, and Martha E. Trout, Assistant Attorney General, attorneys for appellee. _______________ Considered without oral argument by Tabor, C.J., Langholz, J., and Vogel, S.J. Opinion by Tabor, C.J. 1 TABOR, Chief Judge. On the fourth day of his murder trial, Martavius Green accepted a deal. He pleaded guilty to burglary in the first degree and voluntary manslaughter. The court imposed a prison sentence and suspended the fine associated with that second count. Green now seeks resentencing, arguing it was illegal for the court to suspend the fine. Because he fails to show good cause to challenge the sentence, we dismiss his appeal. I. Facts and Prior Proceedings In September 2024, Green visited family in Iowa and stayed in their home. After an argument, he left their house and reentered with a handgun. Green then shot and killed his cousin. The State charged him with murder in the first degree. His case went before a jury. But mid-trial, Green pleaded guilty to lesser offenses. In court, Green’s counsel detailed the terms of the deal. In exchange for the State’s amended trial information, Green agreed to plead guilty to voluntary manslaughter and burglary in the first degree. Iowa Code §§ 707.4, 713.1, 713.3(1) (2024). The agreed-to prison terms were twenty-five years for burglary and ten years for voluntary manslaughter, to run consecutively. Green also agreed to the five-year dangerous weapon enhancement under Iowa Code section 902.7 for both counts, so his sentence included a ten-year mandatory minimum. The parties also addressed the fine associated with his voluntary manslaughter conviction. Green’s counsel stated, “We haven’t made an agreement regarding fines, but we would assume that under the circumstances that the fines would be suspended.” The State responded, “[W]e would not object to it being suspended due to his incarceration.” After 2 that back and forth, the court asked Green if the attorneys stated the agreement correctly. Green responded, “Yes.” At Green’s sentencing hearing, the parties again agreed to suspend the fine, and the court sentenced Green in accordance with the plea agreement. The court assessed a fine of $1,370 with a fifteen percent surcharge, which the court suspended due to his incarceration. Green appeals his sentence. II. Analysis Green anchors his appeal on the partial dissent in State v. Laue, No. 23- 0208, 2023 WL 8448475, at *2–3 (Iowa Ct. App. Dec. 6, 2023) (Ahlers, J., concurring in part and dissenting in part). He argues his sentence is illegal because Iowa Code sections 901.5(3) and 907.3(3) do not permit courts to suspend fines based on incarceration. The State pushes back, emphasizing that our supreme court has not accepted the partial dissent as correct. Before we reach the merits, we must determine whether Green has good cause to appeal. Under Iowa Code section 814.6, we lack jurisdiction to review a sentence arising from a plea agre