United States v. Williams

MEMORANDUM **

The United States of America filed a notice of intent to seek the death penalty, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3593 (a), as to Michael Dennis Williams and Antoine Lamont Johnson. The Defendants filed motions to dismiss the notices of intent to seek the death penalty on the basis that they were untimely. The district court denied the Defendants’ motions.

They seek to immediately appeal, contending that the district court’s denial *572 constitutes a “collateral order” and is not subject to the final judgment rule. The Government asserts that the order does not qualify as an exception to the final judgment rule and we must therefore dismiss this appeal for lack of jurisdiction.

Two other circuits have specifically held that this type of appeal satisfies the collateral order rule. See United States v. Ferebe, 332 F.3d 722, 724 (4th Cir.2003) (“[W]e conclude that district court orders denying motions to strike Death Notices are collateral orders susceptible to our review.”); United States v. Wilk, 452 F.3d 1208, 1220 (11th Cir.2006) (“We agree with our sister circuit and conclude that we have jurisdiction over Wilk’s appeal.”). The First Circuit assumed, without deciding,…