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Trial postponed again { February 13 2003 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A30-2003Feb12.htmlhttp://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A30-2003Feb12.html
Moussaoui Trial Postponed For Third Time
No New Date Set Pending Outcome of Government's Appeal
By Jerry Markon
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, February 13, 2003; Page A08
A federal judge delayed the trial of accused Sept. 11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui for the third time yesterday, while an appeals court set a schedule beginning next month to hear the government's appeal of a key ruling on access to an al Qaeda detainee.
In an order issued in federal court in Alexandria, U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema set aside the June 30 trial date. She declined to set a new date pending the outcome of the government's appeal of her ruling that gave Moussaoui's attorneys access to the self-described coordinator of the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
But Brinkema, while granting the government's request for a postponement, rejected a complementary prosecution motion seeking to halt all pretrial proceedings in the case while the appeal winds through the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit. Instead, she ordered the two sides to submit a list of what classified information they plan to use in the trial by Feb. 20.
"We find that the current trial schedule is no longer practicable," the judge wrote. "To facilitate the prompt and efficient resumption of the trial schedule however, the court will continue to resolve pretrial matters during the pendency of the appeal."
The third delay was another indication of the unusual nature of the prosecution of Moussaoui, the only defendant charged in this country in the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon.
The complicated issues involved in the Moussaoui case -- including his possible access to key witnesses and to classified information, along with the huge amount of material he must digest while serving as his own attorney -- have slowed things considerably. Moussaoui was scheduled to go on trial last October. Brinkema granted a postponement until Jan. 6. She then postponed the trial again to June 30, saying that a "miscarriage of justice" could result if the two sides lacked adequate time to prepare.
Yesterday's actions indicated that the case is now moving even slower. The appeals court released a briefing schedule that starts March 13 with the first government submission and runs until April 7. Oral arguments at the court in Richmond are not expected until May or June, and it is unclear when a decision will be issued.
Moussaoui, 34, a French citizen, was indicted in December 2001 on charges that he conspired with other al Qaeda members to hijack the planes that crashed into the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon. The government is seeking the death penalty. Moussaoui was arrested three weeks before Sept. 11 when his behavior raised suspicion at a Minnesota flight school.
The government alleges that Ramzi Binalshibh, who has admitted planning the attacks, wired Moussaoui at least $14,000, making both men part of the conspiracy. Binalshibh was captured last fall in Pakistan and is being questioned at a secret location.
Moussaoui's attorneys want access to Binalshibh because he may have information important to Moussaoui's defense. But the government objects, feeling that that could disrupt a key interrogation and lead to the revelation of classified information.
In a sealed ruling, Brinkema decided that Moussaoui's attorneys could have access to Binalshibh. It is that ruling that the government is appealing to the 4th Circuit. Prosecutors filed a notice of their appeal Friday.
The resolution of the appeal could be essential in determining whether the Moussaoui case and future prosecutions of terror suspects stay in the criminal justice system. The government has indicated that it is considering moving the case to a military tribunal, and an adverse ruling from the appeals court could hasten that process, experts say.
© 2003 The Washington Post Company
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