Opinion ID: 1699092
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Ineffective Assistance of Mental Health Experts

Text: Hodges argues that penalty phase counsel's failure to ensure that Hodges received the benefit of fully informed mental health experts constituted prejudicially deficient performance and deprived Hodges of his entitlement to expert psychiatric assistance as required under Ake v. Oklahoma, 470 U.S. 68, 105 S.Ct. 1087, 84 L.Ed.2d 53 (1985). The United States Supreme Court held in Ake that where an indigent defendant demonstrates to the trial judge that his sanity at the time of the offense will be a significant factor at trial, the state must assure the defendant access to a competent psychiatrist who will conduct an appropriate examination and assist in evaluation, preparation, and presentation of the defense. Ake, 470 U.S. at 83, 105 S.Ct. 1087. Hodges' Ake claim lacks merit. Hodges does not argue that he was denied access to mental health professionals or that these professionals failed to conduct the appropriate examinations. Indeed, any such claim would run contrary to Dr. Maher's testimony that he conducted a standard psychiatric evaluation of Hodges prior to trial. Hodges had access to multiple mental health experts prior to trial, and the experts performed all of the essential tasks required by Ake. Thus, Hodges fails to establish a violation of the Ake rule. See Johnson v. State, 769 So.2d 990, 1005 (Fla.2000). Instead, Hodges simply recasts his ineffective assistance of counsel argument, which we reject for the reasons stated above.