American Samoa Government v. Sanerivi

*115ORDER GRANTING MOTION FOR PUBLIC FUNDS TO INVESTIGATE WITNESSES

Defendants bring this motion for funding to interview witnesses in (Independent) Samoa. Defendants have been declared indigent and have been appointed public counsel. Their motion, therefore, falls under the ambit of AM. SAMOA Rev. Const, art. 1 § 6, which provides every defendant with the right to have the effective assistance of counsel. See generally Suisala v. Moaali'itele, 6 A.S.R.2d 15 (1987) (incorporating Federal effective assistance of counsel standard); A.S.C.A. §§ 46.0502 and 46.1001.

The effective assistance of counsel…