DISCLAIMER: The following unofficial case summaries are prepared by the clerk's office
as a courtesy to the reader. They are not part of the opinion of the court.
042192P.pdf 09/14/2005 Don William Davis v. Larry Norris
U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 04-2192
Western District of Arkansas
[PUBLISHED] [Murphy, Author, with Bye and Smith, Circuit Judges]
Habeas Case - Death Penalty. District court's failure to provide funds for
an independent psychiatric expert to present mitigating evidence at
sentencing was not contrary to or an unreasonable application of clearly
established federal law when the state expert's assistance met the
requirements of Ake v. Oklahoma. Counsel was not ineffective for
failing to cite Coulter v. State to support his entitlement to an
independent psychiatric examination because there is no reasonable
probability that a citation would have led to a different result. Motion to
remand for further proceedings is the functional equivalent of second or
successive habeas corpus petition and is denied because new rule was not
previously unavailable. Judge Bye dissents from holding due process
requirements were met by state expert's examination.