Does a trial court deprive an indigent defendant of due-process, right-to-present-defense by failing to appoint an adolescent-brain-development expert for sentencing where the indigent defendant is unable to otherwise challenge the imposition of a mandatory life sentence without expert assistance

QUESTION PRESENTED FOR REVIEW In McWilliams v. Dunn, 582 U.S. 1838, 198-99 (2017), this Court held that giving the defendant access to neurological testing but denying the defendant’s request for expert assistance to evaluate the testing report and to assist with preparing and presenting arguments at the sentencing hearing fell short of the expert assistance required by Ake v. Oklahoma, 470 U.S. 68 (1985). McWilliams, however, left open the question presented here: Does a trial court deprive an indigent defendant of due process and the right to present a defense by failing to appoint an adolescent brain development expert for sentencing, where the indigent defendant is unable to otherwise challenge the imposition of a mandatory life sentence without expert assistance. i