United States Second Circuit

In case where defendant awaits trial on charges eligible for the death penalty, order excluding evidence of post-mortem dismemberment of the victims is vacated as: 1) to the extent that the district court excluded evidence from the guilt phase solely because it was excluded at the penalty phase, it erred as a matter of law; and 2) to the extent that the court relies on Federal Rule of Evidence 403, to exclude all evidence as to post-mortem dismemberment, it was an abuse of discretion.

Appellate Information

• Decided 02/06/2008
• Published 02/06/2008

Judges

• SACK, Circuit Judge:, Before:  WALKER, CALABRESI, and SACK, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Second Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Lee J. Freedman, Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York (Roslynn R. Mauskopf, United States Attorney, Peter A. Norling, Assistant United States Attorney, of counsel), Brooklyn, NY, for Appellant.


• For Appellees:
  
• David L. Lewis (Louis M. Freeman, Freeman Nooter & Ginsberg, of counsel), New York, NY, for Defendant-Appellee.