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Tuesday, February 24, 2009
ACCA denies relief in Akbar
We noted in last week's TWIMJ that ACCA was hearing oral argument on 19 February in the capital appeal of United States v. Akbar, No. ARMY 20050514. The issue to be argued was "whether appellant's Motion for Appointment and Funding of a Forensic Psychiatrist and Forensic Psychologist to assist in appellate review should be granted." It didn't take ACCA long to deny relief. Here's a link to an order ACCA issued the day after argument. United States v. Akbar, No. ARMY 20050514 (A. Ct. Crim. App. Feb. 20, 2009) (order).
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3 comments:
Does anyone know what the basis was for the motion? I realize that it's a capital case, but unless there's an issue of competency post-trial, seeking the appointment of both a forensic psychiatrist and psychologist seems even to me, to be a bit much. UNLESS, they were used at the trial level for the defense. Then, many experts aren't going to continue to "cooperate" unless they know they're going to get paid.
If any of the Army appellate folks know the details, please enlighten us.
Whether it's a bit much or not, I'd appreciate some analysis of the CASE beyond copying and pasting the legal test into an "appellate opinion" and pressing the DENY button.
The cut and paste and then Deny is the norm for ACCA. Some exceptions are starting from some of the new judges, but the old guard is real short on analysis.
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