Free Motion in Limine - District Court of Colorado - Colorado

Case 1:00-cr-00531-WYD

Document 2076

Filed 12/18/2006

Page 1 of 4

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLORADO Criminal Action No. 00-cr-00531-WYD-1 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff, v. 1. WILLIAM CONCEPCION SABLAN, Defendant.

GOVERNMENT'S MOTION IN LIMINE TO PRECLUDE PROPORTIONALITY EVIDENCE AND ARGUMENTS

The United States of America, by Troy A. Eid, United States Attorney for the District of Colorado, through Brenda Taylor and Philip A. Brimmer, Assistant United States Attorneys, moves the Court to preclude William Sablan from introducing evidence or arguing to the jury that a death sentence in this case would be disproportionate because similarly situated persons involving other homicides were not sentenced to death. 1. Evidence of charging decisions or sentences in other homicide or death penalty cases is irrelevant to the jury's deliberations in this case. Such evidence is not a proper mitigating factor under the Federal Death Penalty Act. Although the jury may consider evidence of whether "[a]nother defendant or defendants, equally culpable in the crime, will not be punished by death," 18 U.S.C. § 3592(a)(4) (emphasis added), this provision

Case 1:00-cr-00531-WYD

Document 2076

Filed 12/18/2006

Page 2 of 4

of the FDPA does not extend to similar crimes committed by other people. United States v. Regan, 221 F. Supp. 2d 659-660 (E.D. Va. 2002). 2. The introduction of proportionality evidence would also pose a danger of misleading and confusing the jury regarding the overarching issue of this defendant's appropriateness for the death penalty. See United States v. Sampson, 335 F. Supp. 2d 166, 197-98 (D. Mass. 2004) (defendant's proffered proportionality evidence would mislead the jury and create prejudicial confusion). For similar reasons, even a proportionality argument should be prohibited. See United States v. Caro, 2006 WL 3346209 at *4 (W.D. Va. Nov. 12, 2006) ("Even if the defendant were not to introduce direct evidence of other defendants, allowing the defendant during closing argument to reference totally unrelated cases in which the death penalty was not sought or the defendant was not sentenced to death, would lead to a confusion of the issues and mislead the jury"). 3. Finally, allowing the introduction of proportionality evidence would inevitably lead to a series of mini-trials about whether the factual summations were correct and whether the government should have sought the death penalty in certain cases. Id.; Regan, 221 F. Supp. 2d at 660. WHEREFORE the United Stated requests that William Sablan be precluded from introducing proportionality evidence or from arguing that a death sentence in this case

2

Case 1:00-cr-00531-WYD

Document 2076

Filed 12/18/2006

Page 3 of 4

would be disproportionate as compared to other homicide cases.

Respectfully submitted this

day of December, 2006.

TROY A. EID United States Attorney

BY: s/ Brenda K. Taylor BRENDA K. TAYLOR Assistant U.S. Attorney U.S. Attorney's Office 1225 17 th Street, Suite 700 Denver, Colorado 80202 Telephone (303)454-0100 FAX: (303) 454-0406 E-mail address: [email protected] Attorney for Government

BY: s/ Philip A. Brimmer PHILIP A. BRIMMER Assistant U.S. Attorney U.S. Attorney's Office 1225 17 th Street, Suite 700 Denver, Colorado 80202 Telephone (303)454-0100 FAX: (303) 454-0403 E-mail address: [email protected] Attorney for Government

3

Case 1:00-cr-00531-WYD

Document 2076

Filed 12/18/2006

Page 4 of 4

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that on this _18th day of December, 2006, I electronically filed the foregoing GOVERNMENT'S MOTION IN LIMINE TO PRECLUDE PROPORTIONALITY EVIDENCE AND ARGUMENTS with the Clerk of the Court using the CM/ECF system which will send notification of such filing to the following e-mail addresses:

Attorneys for William Sablan Patrick J. Burke [email protected] Nathan Dale Chambers [email protected] [email protected]

Susan Lynn Foreman [email protected]

s/ Dorothy Burwell DOROTHY BURWELL Legal Assistant U.S. Attorney's Office 1225 17th Street, Suite 700 Denver, CO 80202 Phone (303) 454-0100 Fax (303) 454-0400 E-mail address [email protected]

4