United States v. Candelario-Santana

368 F. Supp. 3d 316
United States District Court·Decided March 18, 2019·No. Criminal No. 09-427 (FAB)·Published

Opinion

BESOSA, District Judge.

Pursuant to the Fifth, Sixth, and Eighth Amendments of the United States Constitution, *319defendant Alexis Candelario-Santana ("Candelario") moves to strike the United States' notice of intent to seek the death penalty at the retrial of his case. (Docket Nos. 1481 and 1482.) For the reasons set forth below, the Court DENIES Candelario's motion. (Docket No. 1481.)

I. Background

In March 2013, Candelario was found guilty of violent crimes in aid of racketeering activity, drug trafficking offenses, and thirteen conspiracy-related murders pursuant to the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act ("RICO") by a death-qualified jury. (Docket No. 985.) At the penalty phase of trial, the jury failed to reach a unanimous decision as to whether Candelario should receive the death penalty. (Docket No. 1051.)

In August 2013, Candelario received a life sentence. (Docket No. 1145.) Candelario appealed his sentence, and the First Circuit Court of Appeals vacated and remanded Candelario's case to the district court. United States v. Candelario-Santana, 834 F.3d 8 (1st Cir. 2016).

On November 5, 2018, Candelario moved to strike the United States' notice of intent to seek the death penalty at the retrial of his case. (Docket Nos. 1481 and 1482.) Candelario argues that: (1) the federal death penalty is unconstitutional because it "operates in an arbitrary, capricious, irrational, and invidious manner;" (2) "the evolving standards of decency that mark the progress of a maturing society render the [federal death penalty] unconstitutional;" (3) the United States Supreme Court's decision in Ring v. Arizona, 536 U.S. 584, 122 S.Ct. 2428, 153 L.Ed.2d 556 (2002), renders the Federal Death Penalty Act of 1994 ("FDPA") "inoperative;" (4) "the FDPA fails to provide a structure which permits jurors to make a reasoned choice between execution and a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of release;" (5) the United States' "notice of special findings" in the indictment "is not consistent with the requirements of the Fifth Amendment;" (6) "imposing a federal death penalty within the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico violates the [E]ighth Amendment and basic principles of representative government;" (7) "imposing the federal death penalty in this case would violate Section 9 of the Puerto Rican Federal Relations Act;" and (8) the government must "file an informative outline followed by a hearing, to determine the reliability of evidence and information to be presented in support of a sentence of [death] and to apply Crawford v. Washington, 541 U.S. 36, 124 S.Ct. 1354, 158 L.Ed.2d 177 (2004), to the penalty-phase." (Docket No. 1481 at pp. 1-2.) The Court disagrees.

II. Legal Standard

"[I]t is settled that capital punishment is constitutional." Glossip v. Gross, --- U.S. ----, 135 S.Ct. 2726, 2732, 192 L.Ed.2d 761 (2015) (citation omitted); see Gregg v. Georgia, 428 U.S. 153, 181-87, 96 S.Ct. 2909, 49 L.Ed.2d 859 (1976). Statutes duly enacted by Congress, such as the FDPA, are "presumed to be constitutional." United States v. Sampson, 486 F.3d 13, 20 (1st Cir. 2007) (citing INS v. Chadha, 462 U.S. 919, 944, 103 S.Ct. 2764, 77 L.Ed.2d 317 (1983) ). The burden of proving the FDPA's unconstitutionality thus rests with the challenger. Id. (citing Lujan v. G & G Fire Sprinklers, Inc., 532 U.S. 189, 198, 121 S.Ct. 1446, 149 L.Ed.2d 391 (2001) ). When the United States Supreme Court has "directly decided an issue," this Court "must follow the case [that] directly controls, leaving to [the Supreme] Court the prerogative of overruling its own decisions." Id. (alterations in original) (quoting *320Rodríguez de Quijas v. Shearson/Am. Express, Inc., 490 U.S. 477, 484, 109 S.Ct. 1917, 104 L.Ed.2d 526 (1989) ).

III. FDPA's General Constitutionality

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

United States v. Candelario-Santana, 368 F. Supp. 3d 316 (usdistct 2019).

368 F. Supp. 3d 316 (United States v. Candelario-Santana) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

United States v. Fell
531 F.3d 197 (Second Circuit, 2008)
United States v. William Emmett LeCroy, Jr.
441 F.3d 914 (Eleventh Circuit, 2006)
Stirone v. United States
361 U.S. 212 (Supreme Court, 1960)
Singer v. United States
380 U.S. 24 (Supreme Court, 1965)
Furman v. Georgia
408 U.S. 238 (Supreme Court, 1972)
Branzburg v. Hayes
408 U.S. 665 (Supreme Court, 1972)
Gregg v. Georgia
428 U.S. 153 (Supreme Court, 1976)
Roberts v. Louisiana
428 U.S. 325 (Supreme Court, 1976)
Gardner v. Florida
430 U.S. 349 (Supreme Court, 1977)
County Court of Ulster Cty. v. Allen
442 U.S. 140 (Supreme Court, 1979)
Immigration & Naturalization Service v. Chadha
462 U.S. 919 (Supreme Court, 1983)
Heath v. Alabama
474 U.S. 82 (Supreme Court, 1985)
McCleskey v. Kemp
481 U.S. 279 (Supreme Court, 1987)
Chapman v. United States
500 U.S. 453 (Supreme Court, 1991)
Lujan v. G & G Fire Sprinklers, Inc.
532 U.S. 189 (Supreme Court, 2001)
Ring v. Arizona
536 U.S. 584 (Supreme Court, 2002)
Crawford v. Washington
541 U.S. 36 (Supreme Court, 2004)
Kansas v. Marsh
548 U.S. 163 (Supreme Court, 2006)
United States v. Manuel Quinones
758 F.2d 40 (First Circuit, 1985)