The trial of Richardson Dangleben Jr., which was scheduled to begin Monday in District Court on St. Thomas, has been canceled and removed from the trial calendar until the Third Circuit considers two interlocutory appeals by the prosecution, including whether it may proceed as a death penalty case.
District Court Chief Judge Robert Molloy issued the order Wednesday, a day after the U.S. Justice Department gave notice that, besides appealing the death penalty ruling, it also plans an interlocutory appeal from his order dismissing two counts of Dangleben’s indictment.
The Third Circuit Court of Appeals last week said it would refer the DOJ’s appeal of Molloy’s order striking the death penalty from the record — and the defense’s motion to dismiss that appeal on jurisdictional grounds — to a merits panel for consideration after expedited briefing. It told the government then that it should promptly give notice of any intent to appeal the dismissal of charges so the related matters could be heard together.
The ruling by Third Circuit Judges Thomas M. Hardiman, Stephanos Bibas and Arianna J. Freeman stipulated that the DOJ’s brief must be filed within 14 days of Friday’s order, the defense’s brief within 14 days after that, and the government’s reply brief within seven days thereafter.
The clerk will calendar the appeals before the panel scheduled to sit in the U.S. Virgin Islands during the week of Dec. 8, according to the order.
A grand jury returned a 13-count indictment against Dangleben in October 2023, charging him with violations of federal and territorial laws in connection with the shooting death of V.I. Police Detective Delberth Phipps Jr. on July 4 that year, and the assault of another officer who also responded to the 911 call concerning a man with a gun in Hospital Ground on St. Thomas.
While the DOJ said in February 2024 that it would not seek the death penalty, it reversed course in May after an executive order from President Donald Trump lifting former President Joe Biden’s moratorium on federal executions. Dangleben’s attorney, Public Defender Matthew Campbell, filed a motion opposing the about-face and after briefing by both sides, Molloy struck the government’s notice from the record in August, ruling that the case will proceed as a non-capital case.
The DOJ appealed that order to the Third Circuit on Sept. 15, raising jurisdictional questions as to whether it can do so while the case is ongoing. Campbell filed an emergency motion to dismiss, or to at least hear the appeal on an expedited basis, on Sept. 19.
On Sept. 25, Molloy issued an order dismissing Counts 2 and 3 of the superseding indictment — discharge of a firearm in furtherance of a crime — that Campbell argued failed to state an offense under the United States Code because the predicate offenses upon which the charges are based are local territorial offenses.
Since the notices of appeal, three attorneys with the Federal Community Defender Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, who have specialized expertise in capital litigation, have been appointed to serve as co-counsel for Dangleben. Learned counsel Allison Ferber Miller, an expert in death penalty cases, was appointed in February after the DOJ indicated its intent to reverse its no-seek notice.
