Trial lawyers do everything we can to avoid IAC and support the requirements of the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution which provides that the accused has a right to counsel -- counsel that is not only present but also effective. Under Ake v. Oklahoma , the United States Supreme Court stated that the right includes the right to have experts and investigators. Since Ake, there has been much litigation, particularly in capital cases, regarding the right to have the use of such experts to do an effective job.  

The California courts have made it clear that the right to the assistance of experts includes he right to an investigator and, furthermore, that there is a duty on the part of defense counsel to employ an investigator in just about every case, including “garden variety” drug cases and misdemeanors.  The duty falls squarely on the individual trial lawyer and it is not a defense to IAC that the lawyer cannot afford an investigator or that her or his contract or agency does not provide for funding. The individual lawyer in each case is required to stand up and insist on having an investigator or to withdraw from the case.  But it also provides an opportunity for the employers of contract, appointed or public defender counsel to insist on, and obtain, these needed services.  These cases impose obligations on the governmental agencies, including the County Board of Supervisors, the public, and the courts to provide effective assistance of counsel by insuring that there are adequate investigative services available for all types of criminal cases where needed.