26 F.4th 514
1st Cir.2022Background
- Gary Lee Sampson was convicted of two murders; juries unanimously imposed death sentences originally.
- An earlier death sentence was vacated after discovery that a juror lied during voir dire; the case was retried.
- At retrial, one jury again recommended death for one murder; the jury deadlocked on the other count, and Sampson received a life sentence for that offense.
- Sampson appealed the death sentence; while the appeal was pending he died in custody on December 21, 2021.
- The government and Sampson’s counsel agreed the underlying convictions and the separate life sentence could not be vacated; they disputed whether the pending appeal of the death sentence should be dismissed as moot or result in vacatur under abatement ab initio.
- The First Circuit held the appeal of the death sentence was moot, dismissed it, and declined to exercise equitable discretion to vacate the death sentence; convictions and life sentence remain intact.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether convictions and separate life sentence can be vacated after appellant's death | United States: cannot be vacated because they were not challenged on appeal | Sampson: N/A (counsel agreed they cannot be vacated) | Cannot be vacated as a matter of law |
| Whether appeal of death sentence is moot after appellant's death | United States: appeal is moot because court cannot grant effectual relief | Sampson: argued for vacatur under abatement ab initio (via counsel) | Appeal is moot; dismissed |
| Whether court should vacate the death sentence under Munsingwear/abatement ab initio | United States: court should not exercise equitable discretion to vacate | Sampson: counsel urged vacatur based on abatement ab initio doctrine | Court declined to exercise equitable discretion to vacate the death sentence |
| Ultimate disposition of sentences after death | United States: leave convictions, life sentence, and death sentence intact | Sampson: sought vacatur of death sentence | Court left convictions, life sentence, and death sentence intact |
Key Cases Cited
- United States v. Sampson, 486 F.3d 13 (1st Cir. 2007) (prior appellate decision upholding initial sentence)
- Sampson v. United States, 724 F.3d 150 (1st Cir. 2013) (vacatur of sentence after juror misconduct revealed)
- United States v. Sampson, 820 F. Supp. 2d 151 (D. Mass. 2011) (district-court proceedings addressing juror issue)
- United States v. Brooks, 872 F.3d 78 (2d Cir. 2017) (holding convictions/sentences not challenged on appeal cannot be vacated after defendant's death)
- United States v. DeMichael, 461 F.3d 414 (3d Cir. 2006) (same principle regarding postmortem vacatur)
- United States v. Estate of Parsons, 367 F.3d 409 (5th Cir. en banc 2004) (discussion of abatement ab initio doctrine)
- Horizon Bank & Tr. Co. v. Massachusetts, 391 F.3d 48 (1st Cir. 2004) (mootness—no effectual relief means dismissal)
- Church of Scientology of Cal. v. United States, 506 U.S. 9 (1992) (mootness and effectual relief discussion)
- United States v. Munsingwear, Inc., 340 U.S. 36 (1950) (vacatur of lower-court judgments when case moots on appeal)