People v. Ackley

The question before us is whether the defendant was denied the effective assistance of counsel by his trial counsel’s failure to investigate adequately and to attempt to secure suitable expert assistance in the preparation and presentation of his defense. In this case involving the unexplained and unwitnessed death of a child, expert testimony was critical to explain whether the cause of death was intentional or accidental. Contrary to the determination of the Court of Appeals, we conclude that defense counsel’s failure to attempt to engage a single expert witness to rebut the prosecution’s…