Kim McMichen’s wife, Luan McMichen, and her boyfriend, Jeff Robinson, were killed on November 16, 1990. At trial in 1993, McMichen claimed that he had killed Robinson in self-defense and that he had killed his wife by accident in the process. As to each death, McMichen was found guilty of murder and was sentenced to death. In 1995, this Court affirmed the convictions and death sentences unanimously. McMichen v. State , 265 Ga. 598 458 SE2d 833 1995. McMichen filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus on January 3, 1997, and he amended the petition on September 19, 1997, and again on November 20, 2000. The habeas court held an evidentiary hearing on September 11-12, 2001, and it denied McMichen’s petition in an order filed on September 24, 2007. On March 10, 2009, this Court granted McMichen’s application for a certificate of probable cause to appeal. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm in part, vacate the final judgment denying the petition for writ of habeas corpus, and remand for further proceedings. 1. a. In its order granting McMichen’s application for certificate of probable cause to appeal, this Court directed the parties to address whether trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance of counsel in the manner in which they sought funds from the trial court for experts in forensic sciences. McMichen has further addressed two related questions, which are whether the trial court erred in denying trial counsel’s motions for those funds and whether the trial court’s denial of funds violated the Sixth Amendment by interfering with trial counsel’s ability to render effective assistance of counsel at trial.
i. As to the question we put forward, which is whether trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance in the manner in which they sought funds from the trial court for experts in forensic sciences, McMichen must show that his trial counsel rendered deficient performance and that actual prejudice of constitutional proportions resulted from counsel’s combined deficiencies. Strickland v. Washington, 466 U. S. 668 III 104 SC 2052, 80 LE2d 674 1984; Smith v. Francis , 253 Ga. 782 1 325 SE2d 362 1985. See also Schofield v. Holsey , 281 Ga. 809, 812 n.1 642 SE2d 56 2007 holding that the combined effect of trial counsel’s errors should be considered in weighing prejudice in an ineffective assistance of counsel claim. This claim regarding any alleged deficiency in trial counsel’s efforts to obtain funds is not barred in any fashion, because claims regarding the alleged ineffective assistance of trial counsel may not be raised until after direct appeal in cases where, as was the case here, trial counsel serve as appellate counsel on direct appeal. Gibson v. Head , 282 Ga. 156 2 646 SE2d 257 2007.
