This column reports on several significant, representative decisions handed down recently in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. Judge Nicholas Garaufis declined to strike evidence of "future dangerousness" in the penalty phase of a capital case. Judge Denis Hurley dismissed claims by actress Lindsay Lohan for unauthorized use of her name and sanctioned her attorney. In another case Judge Hurley dismissed plaintiff’s claims that he had been deprived of his right to challenge his classification as a registered sex offender.
‘Future Dangerousness’
In United States v. Wilson, 04 CR 1016 (EDNY, Feb. 15, 2013), Judge Garaufis denied defendant’s motion to preclude proof of "future dangerousness" as an aggravating factor in the penalty phase of this capital case. The only alternative to the death penalty was incarceration for life.
