Opinion ID: 77358
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: March Motions

Text: 30 On March 8, 2005, Wilk filed a motion to strike the Death Notice filed on February 18. On March 10, 2005, the government filed a seven-count second superseding indictment, which retained the six counts from the first superseding indictment and added a third capital count charging Wilk with the murder of Fatta, a state law enforcement officer, while Fatta was working with a federal officer in furtherance of a federal investigation. The statutory aggravating factors listed in the second superseding indictment were identical to those listed in the Death Notice and the first superseding indictment. 10 31 On March 9, 2005, Wilk filed an ex parte motion for his tenth expert. The magistrate judge granted the motion on April 20. 32 On March 11, 2005, Wilk filed three separate motions to declare the Federal Death Penalty Act unconstitutional, inter alia, (1) because of its unconstitutional use, authorization, and treatment of aggravating factors and its failure to provide a standard for jurors to employ in balancing aggravating and mitigating factors; and (2) in light of Ring, 11 Crawford, 12 and Booker. 13 33 Also on March 11, Wilk filed a motion to extend the time for filing motions, arguing, among other things, that the government had filed only partial expert witness disclosures, the government had not provided all discovery, and the defense had not had time to review the second superseding indictment. The magistrate judge granted Wilk's motion and extended the motions deadline to March 18. Following Wilk's motion for reconsideration of the motions deadline, the district court extended the deadline to March 30. 34 On March 15, 2005, Wilk filed an ex parte motion for his eleventh expert, which the district court granted, in an abundance of caution, on April 20, 2005, over the magistrate judge's denial. 35 Also on March 15, the government moved for leave to file an amended Death Notice to include the additional capital murder count contained in the second superseding indictment. The statutory and non-statutory aggravating factors listed in the proposed amended Death Notice were identical to those found in the initial Death Notice. The district court granted the motion, noting that the amended Death Notice was identical to the prior notice except for the addition of language relating to the new capital murder charge in the second superseding indictment. 36 On March 25, in addition to a motion to adopt his motions on the first superseding indictment for the second superseding indictment, Wilk filed these motions relating to the second superseding indictment: (1) seven motions to dismiss various counts of the second superseding indictment on grounds such as duplicity, multiplicity, due process and double jeopardy, violation of the Grand Jury clause and other irregularities, failure to state a crime, lack of jurisdiction, and improper delay; (2) a motion to trifurcate jury deliberations; (3) a preliminary Daubert 14 motion to exclude the government's expert witnesses; and (4) a motion to dismiss the second superseding indictment due to violation of Wilk's speedy trial rights. 37 On March 31, 2005, Wilk filed a motion to strike the amended Death Notice and a motion for an immediate ruling on that motion.