Motion for additional funds to obtain expert assistance; People v. Kennedy; Ake v. Oklahoma

In an order in lieu of granting leave to appeal the Court of Appeals order denying the application for leave to appeal, the court vacated the trial court’s opinion and order denying defendant’s motion for more funds to obtain expert assistance, and remanded the case to the trial court for reconsideration. The court noted that the trial court’s ruling rested in part on the “mistaken belief that the defendant sought to raise the cap on expert funding from $10,000 to $22,000.” Defendant actually sought to increase it to $16,300. The court directed the trial court on remand to “conduct an individualized assessment of the sum required to ‘assure the defendant access’ to the experts needed to ‘conduct an appropriate examination and assist in evaluation, preparation, and presentation of the defense.’”