Opinion ID: 615299
Heading Depth: 5
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Mental Health Evaluation Claim

Text: Under Strickland, counsel’s actions are “ineffective” if the actions were so deficient that it cannot be said that he was functioning as “counsel” within the meaning of the Sixth Amendment. 466 U.S. at 687. Jackson’s trial counsel was not dilatory, unreasonable, or otherwise ineffective for not demanding from the court an expert of Jackson’s choosing, a service that Jackson was not entitled to have under federal law. The Supreme Court explicitly stated in Ake that a defendant does not have “a constitutional right to choose a psychiatrist of his personal liking or to receive funds to hire his own.” 470 U.S. at 83. Moreover, the record indicates that counsel diligently requested that the trial court allow Jackson to select an expert. During pre-trial and again after the parties were presented with Whelan’s and McKinley’s reports, Walls requested an expert of Jackson’s choosing. As previously explained, the trial court granted this request and gave Jackson funds to hire Summers, a psychiatrist he selected. Notably, after consulting with Summers about his report, Jackson decided to withdraw his insanity defense. In sum, Jackson’s claim that Walls was dilatory in requesting an independent mental health evaluation is without merit.