A Des Moines man will get a new trial on charges he assaulted a police officer. A jury convicted Reynold Gogel of assault on a peace officer. The incident happened in November of 2008. The Iowa Court of Appeals has set aside the conviction, ruling the judge’s instructions to the jury were inaccurate.
And during its deliberations, the jury asked the judge a question, and even prosecutors now admit the judge’s response to the jury was wrong. The Court of Appeals has also ruled the man’s attorney was “ineffective” for failing to object to the judge’s instructions and answers to the jury at the time of the trial. Gogel will be retried on the charges.