The court of appeals reversed a judgment of the district court. The court held that resentencing counsel was not ineffective for refusing to renew a capital defendant’s request for a magnetic resonance imaging examination for organic brain damage during resentencing proceedings.
Richard Leavitt was convicted in Idaho state court of a murder in which he slashed and stabbed a woman to death in her bedroom and hacked out her sexual organs. A neurological examination performed for sentencing purposes revealed no evidence of higher cerebral dysfunction nor any objective neurological deficit. Nevertheless, the neurologist suggested further testing based on a CT scan finding that showed a slight cortical cerebral atrophy that might or might not have an effect on cognitive function.
