Judge Bars Moussaoui From Courtroom

Judge bars Moussaoui from courtroom

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansas...s/13869569.htm

MATTHEW BARAKAT
Associated Press

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - A federal judge ruled Tuesday that confessed al-Qaida conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui will not be in the courtroom for jury selection at his upcoming death-penalty trial, after Moussaoui again defied the judge at a pretrial hearing.

U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema said her main reason for holding Tuesday's hearing was to determine "how Mr. Moussaoui plans to behave ... whether you plan to remain quiet ... or whether you plan to make speeches."

The 37-year-old Frenchman of Moroccan descent, who pleaded guilty last April to conspiring with al-Qaida to use aircraft to target U.S. buildings, then walked to the lectern and pulled out what appeared to be a handwritten speech. "You have been trying to organize my death for four years," Moussaoui told the judge.

He launched into yet another effort to disavow his court-appointed lawyers and in the process offered diatribes against President Bush and the French people.
At various points in a rambling speech, he called Bush "a crusader" who was "launching a new campaign of revenge against terrorists."

Despite his French citizenship, he said in heavily French-accented English: "I'm not French .... I stand here as a Muslim only. I do not stand here with a nation of homosexual crusaders."

As Brinkema repeatedly tried to quiet him, Moussaoui complained that for four years she had denied him an opportunity to explain his objections to the defense lawyers. "Today is my day," he plunged on. "If I can't make sure that those people are not going to represent me I know that I am dead."

He then referred to his three attorneys as a "federal lawyer," a "KKK" (Ku Klux Klan) and a "geisha."
Brinkema sternly broke in: "I'm not going to permit you to use a federal courtroom to malign your lawyers."

Without raising his voice, Moussaoui responded, "You own everything - the defense, the judge, the attack (prosecutors). I am al-Qaida. I am your sworn enemy."

To which Brinkema responded: "Mr. Moussaoui, you are the biggest enemy of yourself."

She asked again if he would remain quiet or leave. "I'm going to leave," he responded. He gathered his papers, leaving his text behind. "This is for you."

"God curse you and America," Moussaoui said as he left the courtroom. He was wearing a white knit cap and a green prison jumpsuit with "prisoner" in white block letters on the back.

Brinkema ruled that Moussaoui had forfeited his right to be present and will have to watch jury selection on closed circuit television from his cell at the courthouse.

Moussaoui was tossed out of court four times when jury selection began on Feb. 6 for outbursts in which he disavowed his court-appointed lawyers, proclaimed loyalty to al-Qaida, derided the trial as a circus and promised to testify truthfully about his role.

Lawyers will begin individual questioning of jurors on Wednesday, and opening statements are scheduled for March 6. The trial, expected to last one to three months, will determine what sentence Moussaoui receives: death or life in prison.

Moussaoui claims he had nothing to do with the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist plot but rather was training to fly a 747 jetliner into the White House later if the U.S. did not release an imprisoned radical Egyptian cleric. But he concealed that from federal agents who arrested him in Minnesota less than four weeks before 9/11.

Prosecutors will argue that federal agents could have prevented the attacks if Moussaoui had been truthful about his al-Qaida connections after his Aug. 16, 2001, arrest. To obtain the death penalty, the judge has said, the prosecutors must show that Moussaoui's lies were directly responsible for deaths in Sept. 11 attacks.

Defense lawyers argue that Moussaoui knew less about 9/11 beforehand than the government, and therefore had no knowledge that would have helped the FBI or any other government agency prevent the attacks.

Judge Reverses Decision to Bar Moussaoui

http://www.enidnews.com/feeds/apcont...es_apstoryview

By MATTHEW BARAKAT
The Associated Press
2/15/2006

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Zacarias Moussaoui, the only person charged in connection with the Sept. 11 terror attacks, has been permitted back into court to observe jury selection after having been expelled over terrorist outbursts.

U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema ruled Tuesday that Moussaoui would be barred from the courtroom during jury selection for the penalty phase of the trial after he refused during a hearing to refrain from further outbursts.

Moussaoui disrupted the first day of jury selection on Feb. 6, leading Brinkema to toss him from court four times that day.

When Brinkema asked Moussaoui at Tuesday's hearing how he would behave, the 37-year-old Frenchman of Moroccan descent responded with a diatribe in which he ripped President Bush and disavowed his French citizenship, calling the French "a nation of homosexual crusaders."

Moussaoui, whose frequent outbursts have disrupted previous court proceedings, was to watch the process unfold on closed-circuit television from behind locked bars.

Brinkema gave no explanation in court for her change of mind, but she had said the day before that she might reconsider if he decided to alter his behavior.

For the last week, lawyers on both sides have been reading 50-page questionnaires that 500 potential jurors from northern Virginia completed on Feb. 6. They were asked about their opinions of Islam, their reactions to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and their feelings about the death penalty, among other things.

Individual questioning of potential jurors was beginning Wednesday and will continue until 85 prospective jurors are cleared to sit on the trial. That group will then be reduced to a panel of 18 _ a 12-member jury and six alternates _ that will hear opening statements.

Opening arguments are expected to begin March 6.

Last April, Moussaoui pleaded guilty to conspiring with al-Qaida to fly aircraft into U.S. targets. He claimed he had no role in the Sept. 11 plot and instead was training for an aborted second wave of attacks.

To win the death penalty, prosecutors must prove Moussaoui was directly involved in the Sept. 11 attacks. They plan to argue that the government could have thwarted the attacks if Moussaoui had not lied to FBI agents about his terrorist connections after his August 2001 arrest on immigration violations.

The defense contends the government knew more about the terrorists' plans than Moussaoui, and still was unable to prevent the attacks.

In other developments, a Pennsylvania congressman subpoenaed by Moussaoui's lawyers said he does not want to testify.

Rep. Curt Weldon, R-Pa., said Tuesday he assumed the defense wants to ask about his knowledge of Able Danger, a classified military intelligence unit. He said he does not believe that information is pertinent to Moussaoui's case.

"I think Moussaoui is a thug. I think he deserves to be given the harshest punishment that our country can afford. I don't have any additional information to help them understand what Moussaoui's role was," Weldon said at a news conference.

Weldon said he believes he has congressional immunity from the subpoena.

Why the hell would you change your mind and let him back in?!?
How the well could you defend such slime even when he so blatantly hates you??
Toss that 'thug' to the chair, is what I'd say!!

Are you suggesting he shouldn't get a fair trail?

Also, "calling the French "a nation of homosexual crusaders." - I'm surprised this guy isn't a pin up on Free Republic!

Moussaoui Jury Selection Proceeds Smoothly

By MATTHEW BARAKAT
Associated Press

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) -- Confessed al-Qaida conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui was unexpectedly allowed to re-enter the federal courtroom Wednesday for the selection of a jury to decide whether he is executed or imprisoned for life.

Judge Leonie Brinkema had ordered Moussaoui barred from jury selection at a hearing on Tuesday because he refused to maintain courtroom decorum and indicated a determination to keep giving insult-laden speeches.

Brinkema gave no explanation in court for her change of mind on Moussaoui's presence, but she had said the day before that she might reconsider if he decided to alter his behavior.

The morning session went smoothly, with nine of the 12 jurors who were interviewed being qualified for service. Moussaoui kept silent throughout the proceedings, except for a barely audible "God curse America" uttered to the courtroom gallery as he left for the lunchroom break.The only other time Moussaoui spoke was when Brinkema asked during a late morning break if Moussaoui was willing to delay his midday prayer until the 1 p.m. lunch break. Moussaoui said, "No, I'm going to pray." The issue became moot when the morning session wrapped up before Moussaoui's 12:30 p.m. prayer time.

Of the three prospective jurors who were disqualified from service, two were dismissed because the loss of work would cause a financial hardship. The third, a man who served in the Air Force during Vietnam, was dismissed because he knew one of the people killed at the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001.

Three jurors were qualified despite expressing reservations about the death penalty. Two were qualified despite expressions of support of the principle of "an eye for an eye." All said they would follow the law despite their moral qualms.

One of those with reservations about the death penalty was a Catholic who said he consulted his priest to determine if jury duty would conflict with his religious obligations. He concluded it would not."I just wanted to make sure I had the right theology," the man said.

Brinkema also qualified a Muslim woman of Pakistani descent to serve on the jury. She said her religion would have no bearing on her deliberations.

Two of the jurors were qualified over defense objections. The defense objected to one man who 24 years in active and reserve duty for the Navy and was assigned to the Pentagon and personally knew a contractor who was working there on Sept. 11.

"I remember him telling me it was very loud and surprising and he ran faster than he ever had in his life," the juror said.

Defense attorney Gerald Zerkin objected because "he knows someone who was at the crime scene."

But Brinkema said that she would not disqualify potential jurors "just because they knew people who worked at the Pentagon," absent something special about their relationship or experience.

She also qualified a young female teacher who had unsuccessfully applied to work for the FBI and said, "I always wanted to work for the FBI since I was a teenager."

The young woman expressed the view that Moussaoui might be brainwashed and "he may be in conspiracy even now with people outside the country to harm the United States."

Defense lawyers were joined by a jury consultant, Marjorie Fargo, at the defense table. Moussaoui, wearing the standard green prison jumpsuit along with a white knit cap, set separately at a table behind the defense team.

In a rare development for the Moussaoui case, the courtroom was half empty.

Brinkema told all the qualified jurors to return on March 6. They will be part of a pool of 85 potential jurors, that will be whittled down to a final panel of 18 - a 12-member jury plus six alternates.

Moussaoui disrupted the first day of jury selection, leading Brinkema to toss him from court four times that day.

Brinkema subsequently ordered that he watch the remainder of jury selection on closed-circuit television from a special courthouse jail cell.

Last April, Moussaoui pleaded guilty to conspiring with al-Qaida to fly aircraft into U.S. targets. He claimed he had no role in the Sept. 11 plot and instead was training for an aborted second wave of attacks.

To win the death penalty, prosecutors must prove Moussaoui was directly involved in the Sept. 11 attacks. They plan to argue that the government could have thwarted the attacks if Moussaoui had not lied to FBI agents about his terrorist connections after his August 2001 arrest on immigration violations.

The defense contends the government knew more about the terrorists' plans than Moussaoui, and still was unable to prevent the attacks.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Partridge

Are you suggesting he shouldn't get a fair trail?

Also, "calling the French "a nation of homosexual crusaders." - I'm surprised this guy isn't a pin up on Free Republic!

---

This isn't a trial, this is simply his sentencing...He's already plead guilty!