Opinion ID: 2068732
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: appointment of mitigation expert

Text: Defendant asserts that he was deprived of his fourteenth amendment rights to due process and equal protection, his sixth amendment rightS to effective assistance of counsel, and his eighth and fourteenth amendment right to receive a reliable death sentence determination, where the trial court denied both his pretrial motion for the appointment of a mitigation investigator and his motion for a continuance to prepare for the second stage of the sentencing hearing. Prior to trial, defense counsel moved to require the county to pay for a mitigation expert, suggesting that such an expert would provide assistance in investigating prior criminal activity of the defendant as well as any pertinent psychological background information and employment and educational history. The trial court denied the request for a mitigation expert, noting that 3½ months had elapsed since the commission of the offense and that the appointed co-counsel could assist in whatever investigation was required. The trial court also stated that if defense counsel was unable to obtain certain information, the court would consider appointing an investigator, if defense counsel made a specific request for such information. Defense counsel never informed the court of any unavailable mitigation evidence prior to the sentencing hearing. At the sentencing hearing, mitigation testimony was heard from defendant's girlfriend, mother and sister and included testimony that the defendant had a good relationship with his daughter and that the defendant was an average student. Under the facts and circumstances of the instant case, we cannot find that the trial court erred in denying the request for a mitigation expert. The information desired in the instant case was of a nature that required no special knowledge or expertise on the part of the person doing the investigation. Thus, defendant's co-counsel were competent to perform the mitigation investigation themselves and required no outside assistance. Moreover, the trial court indicated that it would appoint an investigator if the defense counsel showed that specific information was needed and could not otherwise be obtained. Consequently, we find that the defendant's constitutional rights were not infringed, despite the denial of an investigator, since the defendant was given a sufficient opportunity to present mitigation evidence. The defendant also argues that the denial of his request for a continuance before the second stage of the death penalty hearing violated his constitutional rights. The purpose for the continuance was to secure some witnesses from the correctional center who spoke well of Mr. Lear. The trial court denied the motion to continue, but allowed into evidence the records from the defendant's incarceration and two recommendation letters from counselors at the correctional facility. Under these facts, we hold that there was no abuse of discretion in denying the request for a continuance. People v. Sanchez (1986), 115 Ill.2d 238, 262, 104 Ill.Dec. 720, 503 N.E.2d 277.