The verdict form also included a catch-all category: G.Other factors in Len Davis's background or character mitigate against imposition of a death sentence. You don't get charged with that kinda stupid shit over here. Prior to the August 2005 re-sentencing, and again after Jasmine's direct testimony, defense counsel obtained permission from the court to question her about a letter she and her family had sent to the United States Attorney General in June 2005. For example, when discussing Davis's plan of the murder, the prosecutor stated: Hardy's going to be the executioner and they're [Davis and Williams] are going to clean it up. If a policeman killing a citizen using a drug dealer that he is protecting is not enough, then what is?. However, the Government agrees that the judge erred if, in fact, she answered the jury's question without first consulting counsel for both parties. In 2018, the city of New Orleans settled a lawsuit with Groves' three children in the sum of $1.5 million. The citizens of the City of New Orleans wait for you to give them justice. 3595(c). Davis and Hardy were sentenced to death; Causey, to life imprisonment. This prohibition covers issues decided both expressly and by necessary implication, and reflects the jurisprudential policy that once an issue is litigated and decided, that should be the end of the matter. United States v. Pineiro, 470 F.3d 200, 205 (5th Cir.2006) (citation and internal quotation marks omitted). Though Davis refused to be present in the courtroom during the selection phase, he permitted his back-up counsel to proceed without him..FN7. Without the notification, Davis and his counsel were unable to evaluate the propriety or adequacy of the proposed supplemental charge, formulate objections, or suggest additional instructions. McDuffie, 542 F.2d at 241. The Supreme Court reiterated the standard of review in an earlier opinion involving the same Batson challenge raised in Miller-El. (citing United States v. Mares, 402 F.3d 511, 515 (5th Cir. [24] Davis has been linked to that murder as well. Agents spent the following weeks investigating the murder, U.S. Attorney Eddie Jordan Jr. said. United States v. Rodriguez, 581 F.3d 775, 796-97 (8th Cir.2009) (holding that testimony of six victim-impact witnesses was not overwhelming where witnesses explained the impact of the victim's murder on their lives and defendant presented mitigation witnesses). Therefore, neither decision raises any ex post facto or due process concerns. And he doesn't care, she said. at 438-44 (discussing cases). In his seventh claim, Davis asserts that the district court committed plain error in instructing the jury on mitigating evidence or in drafting the verdict forms on the same. 20 years ago: Restaurant killings, officer's arrest rocked city, NOPD. So I don't think I can do anything about ordering a new trial on your guilt phase. When Davis reiterated his Brady claim, the court stated, But even if I were to get to the merits of your motion, I'm not persuaded that there's anything significant here that-significant enough that justifies a new trial.. This was in direct response to the court's sustaining his objection to the prosecutor's mention of other criminal cases in the Government's summation. His wife and children are in our thoughts. Rogers LaCaze, the co-defendant of notorious ex-New Orleans Police Department officer Antoinette Frank, was resentenced Friday to life without parole. At the close of the selection phase hearing, the district court charged the following aggravating factor to the jury: That Mr. Davis poses a threat of future dangerousness to the lives and safety of other persons while imprisoned. The jury unanimously found that the Government had proven this factor beyond a reasonable doubt. WebView All 34,791 Memorials for the Police Officers Site. That'd be the Feds with that shit. Don't let him. 12. [20] The witness tampering conviction would be later overturned. The rule announced in these cases simply made clear that the death resulting component of 241 and 242 must be alleged in the indictment and found by the jury beyond a reasonable doubt. Id. FN6. Join the New Orleans Police Department. In 1995, Lacaze was convicted along with former NOPD officer Antoinette Frank of killing her partner Ronald Williams, and Ha Vu and Cuong Vu at the New Orleans East restaurant, Kim Anh Noodles. While we examine the Brady question de novo, we must proceed with deference to the factual findings underlying the district court's decision. United States v. Severns, 559 F.3d 274, 278 (5th Cir.2009). In connection with this investigation, the FBI conducted surveillance and recorded cellular telephone conversations of Davis and other NOPD officers. Senior Police Officer Sharon M. Williams. When Ronald Doucette resigned from Delgado in 2014, college officials replaced him with another former New Orleans police officer: Julie Lea, a former lieutenant in internal affairs. Davis, then an officer with the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD), exchanged protection for favors with Hardy, then a New Orleans drug dealer. That investigation, Operation Shattered Shield, involved soliciting NOPD officers to guard what they thought was a warehouse holding illegal drugs for shipment. 01-30656, 2001 WL 34712238, at *3 (5th Cir. The warehouse protection was run almost like a paid detail - a moonlighting job like the kind many officers hold - except the pay scale was much higher than the usual $15 an hour, authorities said. United States v. Hardy, 34 F. App'x 962 (5th Cir.2002) (per curiam). Copyright 1996-2023, The Officer Down Memorial Page, Inc, Registration for the 2023 National Police Week 5K goes up $5 on March 2nd save on our introductory pricing and, register today to run or walk in your hometown, View Here, the Government's evidence supported the theory that Davis's modus operandi was to direct other persons to commit criminal acts and to inflict violence on other persons. And justice can only be had by sentencing Len Davis to death. FN5. The description matched what Groves had on at the time of her murder. Why wasnt Antoinette fired from the police department? The motion also said the jury didn't know that officers Len Davis and Sammie Williams-the first officers on the scene-were known to cover up the identity of perpetrators and manipulate evidence at murder scenes at the housing project to cover up for drug dealers they protected. In police code, 30 is the signal for a homicide. We rejected this claim in Davis's first appeal. See Williams, 517 F.3d at 806; McCrimmon, 443 F.3d at 461-62. (citing United States v. Murrah, 888 F.2d 24, 28 (5th Cir.1989)). And the only way they can prove it, they gotta have you on tape and shit. This is the account described in the documents: Shortly after Davis found out about the brutality complaint against him, he is quoted as muttering to himself as he dialed Hardy's beeper, "I can get P to come and do that whore now and then we can handle the 30." This principle receives even more play where there is no contemporaneous objection to the cross-examination. Id. Finally, the testimony's probative value in demonstrating Davis's propensity for violent acts outweighs the danger of prejudice. Len Davis (born August 6, 1964)[1] is a former New Orleans police officer. [8], In 1994, Davis beat a young man in New Orleans, mistaking him for a suspect in a police officer's shooting. The testimony did not render the trial fundamentally unfair, as Davis's counsel was able to cross-examine Jasmine (and to ask leading questions). res@alhamistravel.com New Orleans Police Department, LA. WebRest in heavenly peace on this your 25 anniversary in heaven. [2][3] He was convicted of depriving civil rights through murder by conspiring with an assassin to kill a local resident. We rejected Davis's Batson challenge in his first appeal. "Be looking for something to come down," he told his partner, Sammie Williams, in a phone conversation monitored by Federal agents. Davis also places much weight on evidence of his violence-free prison record during the 11 years between his arrest in 1994 and his sentencing in 2005. On several occasions, Len Davis answered calls for assistance from fellow officers who were being shot at and assisted in apprehension of the suspects, putting his own life in danger to save the lives of his fellow officers. Davis's back-up counsel did not object to these statements.7. denied, 546 U.S. 1098 (2006), decided shortly after Miller-El, we determined that Miller-El did not change controlling law: [T]he [Miller-El] Court considered the type and quantum of record evidence required to demonstrate a Batson violation. Factor G. on the verdict form, the catch-all factor, permitted the jury to consider whether [o]ther factors in Len Davis's background or character mitigate against imposition of a death sentence, thereby covering any factors that had been condensed. Williams also testified and corroborated much of the recorded conversations. Here, the remark was not directed to facts outside the record or unrelated to the evidence introduced at trial. Williams was also ordered to pay $11,576 in restitution and Moore was sentenced to three years of supervised release. Therefore, the defendant and the government may introduce any relevant information during the sentencing hearing limited by the caveat that such information be relevant, reliable, and its probative value must outweigh the danger of unfair prejudice. United States v. Jones, 132 F.3d 232, 241 (5th Cir.1998). What surprised authorities most, however, was the ease at which new officers were brought into the sting. Giglio applies the Brady rule to evidence affecting the credibility of key government witnesses. Defense counsel did not object to any of the prosecutor's questions. Moreover, the general line of questioning-though not the form-was appropriate given the topics introduced in direct examination. The district court granted Davis's motion in part in an unpublished order, holding that the indictment was insufficient. 242 and 2; and (3) willfully killing Groves to prevent her communications to a law enforcement officer regarding a possible federal crime, in violation of 18 U.S.C. Under either standard, Davis's claims fail. The jury was already aware of the wiretap tapes in which Davis celebrated Groves's death, which suggested lack of remorse. Accordingly, the district court conducted a hearing at the second stage of the sentencing phase to determine whether Davis and Hardy should be sentenced to death or to life imprisonment without release. Therefore, we affirm the jury's finding on the future dangerousness factor. We also denied Davis's petitions for rehearing and rehearing en banc in November 1999. Review of this issue is foreclosed because Davis's conviction on both counts, based on sufficient evidence, was affirmed in his first appeal. WebLen Davis was an officer in the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD). Other participants in the drug trafficking conspiracy are now eligible to receive reduced sentences as a result of their testimony against Mr. Davis and plea agreements with the government. Groves filed a complaint against Davis with the NOPD's internal affairs office, alleging that Davis engaged in police brutality. Well, I haven't seen the, you know, the previous years' crime statistics, so I'll accept that, but I don't know that that's true. Well, other than the fact that it is considerably higher than the other eight districts, no. The prejudice step sets a high bar The determinative question is whether the prosecutor's remarks cast serious doubt on the correctness of the jury's verdict. Id. The prosecutor's intent is not manifest if there is some other, equally plausible explanation for the remark. Grosz, 76 F.3d at 1326. Davis did not appeal this ruling..FN9. In his third claim, Davis alleges that the prosecution engaged in misconduct by (1) introducing evidence about his and Hardy's involvement in violence; (2) improperly cross-examining his defense expert; and (3) presenting arguments to the jury about Davis's and Hardy's involvement in violence, in violation of his due process rights. On the night of Groves' murder, Davis spoke with Hardy several times. Williams, 517 F.3d at 806. This hybrid representation resulted from motions Davis filed regarding his right to self-representation. Explore. If you don't return a sentence of death, you're giving him a free pass for killing Kim Marie Groves. Davis paged Hardy. Therefore, the district court did not believe she had the authority to do anything about the motion other than deny it on procedural grounds. The court also stated that she did not agree that the discrepancies Davis relied on were particularly significant. Davis then argued that his convictions for Counts 1 and 2 of the indictment had been overturned when this court vacated the death sentences and remanded for re-sentencing. Law-enforcement sources said the officers are suspected of conspiring to distribute large amounts of cocaine. Others who may be arrested include several officers from the 5th Police District, two from the 6th District, two from the 2nd District, one assigned to public housing and one from the juvenile division. [13], In October 2022, three men wrongfully convicted of murder, based on false testimony from Davis, were released after 28 years of incarceration. Pennington said he immediately suspended the nine officers. As the Government correctly notes, neither Apprendi nor Ring infringe on Congress's powers by creating new criminal offenses that did not previously exist. 938, 947 (E.D.La.1996). The investigation ended prematurely after Justice Department officials were shown evidence that Davis ordered Groves' murder. One of Hardy's favors, at Davis's request, was to murder Groves. Those killings should never have happened. As Davis acknowledges, we addressed this issue in response to the Government's previous appeals from a district court ruling. When a defendant seeks a new trial on the basis of a Brady violation, he must show that (1) the prosecution did not disclose the evidence; (2) the evidence was favorable to the defense; and (3) the evidence was material. Fernandez, 559 F.3d at 319 (quoting United States v. Infante, 404 F.3d 376, 386 (5th Cir.2005)). In Murphy v. Dretke, 416 F.3d 427 (5th Cir.2005), cert. denied, 544 U.S. 1034 (2005). The FDPA requires this court to review whether the evidence supports a special finding of the existence of an aggravating factor. ; see also United States v. Hillsman, 480 F.3d 333, 335-36 (5th Cir.2007); United States v. Hall, 152 F.3d 381, 406 (5th Cir.1998), abrogated on other grounds by United States v. Martinez-Salazar, 528 U.S. 305 (2000). Q. 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