| I'm very happy about this, although Moussaoui's oral arguments would have been entertaining... |
The Supreme Court declined Monday to hear terrorism suspect Zacarias Moussaoui's appeal of a key ruling upholding the Bush administration's power to bar certain witnesses sought by the only person charged in the United States in connection with the Sept. 11 attacks. Justices let stand a lower court ruling that allowed the government to pursue the death penalty while restricting Moussaoui's direct access to three al-Qaida terror captives. The lower court, citing national security concerns, said Moussaoui could use government-prepared summaries from the captives but not interview them himself. The Supreme Court action shifts the case back to trial court, where U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema in Alexandria, Va., must oversee the crafting of summaries and other classified information. A trial could begin as early as September. | It's only been almost 4 years already. What's the rush? |
Moussaoui, a French citizen who was indicted in December 2001, remains the only person charged in an al-Qaida conspiracy that includes the Sept. 11 attacks. He has acknowledged his loyalty to Osama bin Laden but denies he was to have any role in the 2001 attacks on New York and Washington. His court-appointed attorneys argue in filings that forcing Moussaoui to rely on summaries violate his 6th Amendment right to a fair trial because the classified documents contain information "from unnamed, unsworn government agents purporting to report unsworn, incomplete, nonverbatim accounts" of witness statements.
But the administration countered that high court review at this point was premature because government attorneys were working to put together summaries under Brinkema's direction. An appeal challenging the death penalty and use of summaries, if one is necessary, would be more appropriate after trial, it said. "The challenged substitutions have not yet been crafted and thus their adequacy and admissibility cannot be examined in a concrete factual context," acting Solicitor General Paul Clement wrote. Justice Department spokesman Bryan Sierra said the government would present a motion to the district court suggesting a trial date. The filing could be as early as Tuesday. Sierra said the Supreme Court's rejection of Moussaoui's appeal "once again affirms our belief that the government can provide Zacarias Moussaoui with a fair trial while still protecting national security interests." "Today's denial of Moussaoui's appeal puts us another step closer to trial and we look forward to presenting our case to the district court," he said. The case is Moussaoui v. U.S., 04-8385.
| More legalese at the link if you care. |
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