Opinion ID: 2317113
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Application of Ake Beyond the Capital Context

Text: Based on language in the concurring opinion of Chief Justice Burger in Ake, some courts have limited the application of Ake to capital cases. See, e.g., Isom v. State, 488 So.2d 12, 13 (Ala.Crim.App. 1986); Bannister v. State, 726 S.W.2d 821, 828-30 (Mo.App.1987). Chief Justice Burger stated as follows: The facts of the case and the question presented confine the actual holding of the Court. In capital cases the finality of the sentence imposed warrants protections that may or may not be required in other cases. Nothing in the Court's opinion reaches non-capital cases. Ake at 87, 105 S.Ct. at 1098 (Burger, C.J., concurring). The majority of courts that have considered this question have concluded that Ake applies to non-capital cases. See Cowley v. Stricklin, 929 F.2d 640, 640 (11th Cir. 1991); Little v. Armontrout, 835 F.2d 1240, 1243 (8th Cir.1987); Palmer v. State, 486 N.E.2d 477, 481-82 (Ind.1985); State v. Coker, 412 N.W.2d 589, 592-93 (Iowa 1987); State v. Dunn, 243 Kan. 414, 758 P.2d 718, 724-25 (1988); Pertgen v. State, 105 Nev. 282, 774 P.2d 429, 430-31 (1989); State v. Campbell, 127 N.H. 112, 498 A.2d 330, 332-33 (1985); People v. Stone, 195 Mich.App. 600, 491 N.W.2d 628, 631-32 (1992); State v. Barnett, 909 S.W.2d 423, 427 (Tenn.1995); Taylor v. State, 939 S.W.2d 148, 152 (Tex.Crim.App.1996). The Tennessee Supreme Court reasoned as follows: We agree with the jurisdictions that have applied the Ake principle in the non-capital context because the due process principle of fundamental fairness requires that a State which prosecutes an indigent defendant assure that defendant of a fair opportunity to present his defense. It is axiomatic that fairness cannot exist where an indigent defendant is deprived by poverty of a meaningful opportunity to defend when his liberty is at stake. The due process principle of fundamental fairness applies to all criminal prosecutions, and does not rest upon the severity of the sanction sought or imposed. Barnett, 909 S.W.2d at 428. We agree, and conclude that Ake extends beyond the capital context and applies to non-capital cases.