United States v. Shawn Arnette Breeden, United States of America v. Kevin Thomas Cassell, United States of America v. Michael Anthony Carpenter

WILLIAM W. WILKINS, Chief Judge:

The Federal Death Penalty Act of 1994 requires the Government to file a notice of intent to seek the death penalty “a reasonable time before the trial or before acceptance by the court of a plea of guilty.” 18 U.S.C.A. § 3593(a) (West 2000). Forty-one days before the scheduled beginning of their trial for offenses punishable by death, Shawn Arnette Breeden, Kevin Thomas Cassell, and Michael Anthony Carpenter (collectively, “Appellants”) moved to prohibit the Government from seeking the death penalty against them on the basis that it was then too late to file a…