Conley v. Commonwealth

The Supreme Court vacated Defendant's conviction and twenty-seven-year sentence for the murder of her mother and remanded this case for a new trial, holding that the trial court's application of principles in Ake v. Oklahoma, 470 U.S. 68 (1985), in this case led to errors that entitled Defendant to a new trial.Specifically, the Court held (1) the trial court erred by failing to grant Defendant's request for funds to hire a mental health professional for a defense examination pursuant to Ake and instead ordering that a criminal responsibility examination be conducted by the Kentucky Correctional Psychiatric Center (KCPC); (2) the fruits of the erroneous trial court that resulted in a criminal responsibility report prepared by the KCPC should be excluded upon retrial; and (3) testimony elicited by the Commonwealth KCPC staff member regarding Defendant's appreciation of the consequences of her acts was improper. View "Conley v. Commonwealth" on Justia Law