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Moussaoui Jury Selection: Moussaoui Ousted From Courtroom

By Jeralyn, Section Terror Trials
Posted on Mon Feb 06, 2006 at 01:27:25 PM EST
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Bump and Update: Here's the case in a nutshell:

[Judge] Brinkema told the prospective jurors the case hinges on whether Moussaoui lied when interrogated before Sept. 11, 2001, and whether people died that day as a direct result. Advocating execution, prosecutors contend Moussaoui could have prevented the attacks by telling authorities about al-Qaida's designs. Defense attorneys say the government knew more about the plot than Moussaoui before 9/11 and still couldn't stop the attacks.

Moussaoui was arrested on immigration charges Aug. 17, 2001, after arousing suspicion as he trained at a Minnesota flight school to fly 747 jetliners. He was still in custody when 19 hijackers flew two 757 and two 767 jetliners into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania, killing nearly 3,000 Americans in the nation's deadliest terrorist attack.

Moussaoui was ejected from the courtroom a total of four times today.

Update: Moussaoui lasted two minutes at his trial before being removed from the courtroom.

Moments after he was seated, the convicted Sept. 11, 2001, conspirator stood and said in a clear voice, "I won't be heard by this court," just after U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema began addressing jurors on the first day of jury selection. "These lawyers are not my lawyers. . . . I don't want to be represented by these lawyers."

"This is not the time," Brinkema responded. Brinkema asked U.S. marshals to escort Moussaoui from the courtroom. He cooperated, placing his hands on his head and keeping them there as he was led out. At one point, he said, "I'm not resisting."

Before he left, Moussaoui said: "They are Americans. . . . I am al Qaeda. . . . I'm the enemy. . . . This trial is a circus."

Original Post:

Jury selection in the death penalty phase of Zacarias Moussaoui begins today. It is expected to last a month. Most of the court pleadings are filed under seal. The defense proposed jury questionaire is here (pdf).

The LA Times reports on the prosecution's strategy:

...federal prosecutors expect to argue that he should be executed not for what he did in furthering the Sept. 11 terrorist conspiracy, but rather for doing nothing to prevent it.

If that's the yardstick, why is Moussaoui facing death when Michael Fortier got 12 years for not alerting authorities to the Oklahoma City bombing. Is it that Fortier cooperated against McVeigh and Nichols and Moussaoui is too crazy to provide a coherent statement against anyone? Or is it that 3,000 dead is worth death while 165 dead is only worth 12 years?

The reality is the Government is choosing this strategy because it wants its cake and to eat it too. It filed against Moussaoui in a federal court but wants to keep the information it has secret--from his defense team and the public.

Moussaoui was a member of al-Qaeda who reportedly had no part in the 9/11 attacks. He was not the intended 20th hijacker. He would like us to believe he was going to pilot a plane for a future attack, but his skills were so bad he flunked out of flight school. I don't buy the Government's version for a minute. The two witnesses who could clear him of involvement in 9/11, Ramzi Binalshibh and Khalid Shaikh Mohammed , are in an overseas secret jail and the Government, in defiance of a court order, has refused to grant Moussaoui's lawyers access to them for an interview.

Moussaoui is not a sympathetic character, but if we are going to try him in a federal court, he should be provided with exculpatory information in possession of the Government, and the opportunity to bring those witnesses to court to testify in his defense. This case is stacked against him, and even though the District Court Judge, Lonnie Brinkema, has tried her best to rein in the prosecution, she's still in the 4th Circuit where conservative judges rule.

This case has been like a game of What's My Line? Meet Zacarias Moussoui. Is he:

The 20th Hijacker
The Fifth Pilot
A financial drop for Ramzi Binalshibh,
A Manipulative Defendant or
or a Mentally Unbalanced Defendant?

Killing Moussaoui is not a victory in the war on terror. It is a blow to our rule of law and a testament to our cruel and inhumane policy of executing the mentally ill. He's just another bumbling holy warrior.

TalkLeft's full coverage of Moussaoui is accessible here.

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    Moussaoui Jury Selection: Moussaoui Ousted From Courtroom | 14 comments (14 topical)
    Re: Moussaoui Jury Selection: Moussaoui Ousted Fro (none / 0) (#1)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Mon Feb 06, 2006 at 07:06:37 AM EST
    Ther are so many reasons to eliminate the death penalty. This is just another one. We become obsessed with bidding for the ultimate punishment/retribution! Why is Mom's life not worth as much as a Policemans? Who deserves to die and who doesn't presents a terrible predict-ament for society. Why we do this to ourselves is beyond me!

    Re: Moussaoui Jury Selection: Moussaoui Ousted Fro (none / 0) (#2)
    by Darryl Pearce on Mon Feb 06, 2006 at 07:43:23 AM EST
    We have a struggle here between emotions and thinking. And emotions trump rationale every time... All this time and energy spent on Zacarias Moussaoui and yet, in another example of overworked, underfunded government, we've had riots and lock-down at all Los Angeles County jails.

    Re: Moussaoui Jury Selection: Moussaoui Ousted Fro (none / 0) (#3)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Mon Feb 06, 2006 at 11:00:45 AM EST
    In the 1950s it was 90 days from murder to execution for the couple that kidnapped and killed little Bobby Greenlease. I fear that the fact that Zach Mousse is still breathing reflects poorly on our survival instinct as a society. Jimbo

    Re: Moussaoui Jury Selection: Moussaoui Ousted Fro (none / 0) (#4)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Mon Feb 06, 2006 at 11:02:41 AM EST
    Sorry, link for Bobby Greenlease didn't make it. Jimbo

    Re: Moussaoui Jury Selection: Moussaoui Ousted Fro (none / 0) (#5)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Mon Feb 06, 2006 at 11:22:14 AM EST
    Jimbo, who exactly are you accusing Zacarias Moussaoui of having killed?

    Re: Moussaoui Jury Selection: Moussaoui Ousted Fro (none / 0) (#6)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Mon Feb 06, 2006 at 02:00:23 PM EST
    Uh, where were you on 9/11? See, these Islamofascist terrorists conspired to fly planes into the world trade center, the pentagon, and either the white house or the capitol. Perhaps you've heard of it. Zach Mousse admitted that he was part of the conspiracy. The question now is whether to execute him for killing over 3,000 Americans. Glad to help you out. Jimbo

    Re: Moussaoui Jury Selection: Moussaoui Ousted Fro (none / 0) (#8)
    by Johnny on Mon Feb 06, 2006 at 02:52:11 PM EST
    Why are we so lenient on people who ADMIT they are the enemies?
    For starters, confessions are rarely determined to be solid evidence. Secondly, without a trial, proper trial that is, we negate our stance against the very people we are pursuing. If you are comfortable with devolving to the standards of those you proclaim hatred for, so be it. I however, am not. Do it the right way.

    Re: Moussaoui Jury Selection: Moussaoui Ousted Fro (none / 0) (#9)
    by squeaky on Mon Feb 06, 2006 at 02:55:26 PM EST
    narius-obviously you have nether heart or brain, just fear. Give away the rights if someone else and don't expect anything but similar treatment, even if it is a mistake. Bang bang you are dead. no trial. just because someone decided that you were a threat. Fascist coutries are like that, why don't you find one to move to instead of lobbying for one here.

    Re: Moussaoui Jury Selection: Moussaoui Ousted Fro (none / 0) (#10)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Mon Feb 06, 2006 at 02:58:46 PM EST
    Jimbo: Zacarias Moussaoui admitted that he was part of the conspiracy. Right. So he's being killed because he didn't manage to kill anyone. Now can you explain to me precisely what threat Zacarias Moussaoui represents to the US?

    Re: Moussaoui Jury Selection: Moussaoui Ousted Fro (none / 0) (#11)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Mon Feb 06, 2006 at 03:28:06 PM EST
    Just all part of the arbitrary fun. Padilla and a furriner named Al-Mari get tickets to a brig in Charleston, SC (also conveniently in the 4th Circuit.) Moussaoui gets a court trial, at which the government won't comply with any of the court's rulings, then he pleads guilty, and now gets another trial over we get to execute him... setting up the ultimate ineffective assistance of counsel defense (himself). Then we have hundreds of people at Gitmo, most of whom the government admits have no useful information or connection to terrorists, though among the few the government has RELEASED from Gitmo are some well-known to be terrorists. Are we supposed to believe that tossing out the rule of law is making us any safer, given all of this? For the 3 trillionth time its been quoted, I'm sure, I quote Franklin: They who would trade thier precious liberty for a little temporary security deserve neither. And in our case, we're going to end up with neither if this is how our criminal justice system is going to operate.

    Re: Moussaoui Jury Selection: Moussaoui Ousted Fro (none / 0) (#13)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Mon Feb 06, 2006 at 07:58:35 PM EST
    narius:
    Just label him an enemy combatant, fly him over to Eastern Europe and shoot him. Why are we so lenient on people who ADMIT they are the enemies?
    If we are at war (a highly dubious point of view, incidentally), then he would be a Prisoner of War. As such, we should hold him captive until the war is over, but we should not kill him. If we are not actually at war (as most people believe, since congress has not declared war), then since he has not been tried and convicted of anything, we should hold him captive until the trial is over, but we should not kill him. Take your pick.

    Re: Moussaoui Jury Selection: Moussaoui Ousted Fro (none / 0) (#14)
    by Che's Lounge on Mon Feb 06, 2006 at 11:34:15 PM EST
    People like Narius are exactly what AQ recruiters are using as incentive. Peas in a pod

    Re: Moussaoui Jury Selection: Moussaoui Ousted Fro (none / 0) (#15)
    by jimakaPPJ on Tue Feb 07, 2006 at 06:04:10 AM EST
    et al - The point, of course, is that we are giving him a trial. All of the complaints and "what ifs" really mean nothing.

    Re: Moussaoui Jury Selection: Moussaoui Ousted Fro (none / 0) (#16)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Tue Feb 07, 2006 at 10:42:07 AM EST
    Jim: The point, of course, is that we are giving him a trial. All of the complaints and "what ifs" really mean nothing. There are still hundreds of prisoners in Guantanamo Bay who have not been given a trial, Jim.

    Moussaoui Jury Selection: Moussaoui Ousted From Courtroom | 14 comments (14 topical)