Opinion ID: 757025
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: unfair trial--due process

Text: 331 Ajaj argues that the cumulative effect of the district court's errors, in addition to the prejudicial circumstances that hindered the presentation of his defense, resulted in a fundamentally unfair trial that violated his right to due process. See Taylor v. Kentucky, 436 U.S. 478, 487 & n. 15, 98 S.Ct. 1930, 56 L.Ed.2d 468 (1978) ([C]umulative effect of the potentially damaging circumstances of this case violated the due process guarantee of fundamental fairness.); United States v. Rivera, 900 F.2d 1462, 1477 (10th Cir.1990) (Courts have ... found fundamental unfairness when error is considered in conjunction with other prejudicial circumstances within the trial, even though such other circumstances may not individually rise to the level of error.); United States v. Diharce-Estrada, 526 F.2d 637, 642 (5th Cir.1976). In addition to the district court's commission of a number of legal errors, Ajaj argues that his trial counsel did not have an adequate opportunity to prepare Ajaj's defense. Ajaj's trial counsel was appointed to represent Ajaj on June 21, 1993 and had less than three months to prepare before trial commenced on September 14, 1993. Ajaj argues that his attorney did not have enough time to conduct an international investigation in the Middle East or to translate and review critical Arabic documents and tapes. Compounding the difficulties, Ajaj's defense was hampered by Ajaj's poor English, his imprisonment, ill health, and the government's failure to provide critical items of discovery material in a timely manner. 332 We disagree. The record does not support Ajaj's claim that the circumstances of his trial were so prejudicial that his right to due process was denied. We conclude that Ajaj overstates the impact, if any, that his health and English-speaking ability had on the effective presentation of his defense. Moreover, Ajaj's contention that his attorney did not have an adequate opportunity to prepare his defense, given the speed with which his case was brought to trial and the government's discovery delays, is undermined by the failure of his attorney ever to seek a continuance. In sum, we conclude that Ajaj received a fair trial.