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Moussaoui Verdict Form: Questions Jury Will Have to Answer

By Jeralyn, Section Terror Trials
Posted on Mon Mar 27, 2006 at 10:33:32 AM EST
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Corrected Post: The verdict form below was submitted by Moussauoi's lawyer, not issued by the Judge. It is a proposed verdict form. The Judge may or may not approve it. I have edited the post below to reflect this. Sorry for the confusion.

The proposed verdict form that the defense would like the Court to submit to the jury in the Zacarias Moussaoui case is available here. (pdf) The defense submits that the jury must find the Government has proven all of them to proceed with the death penalty. Here are the key questions (direct quotes):

  • Do you, the jury, unanimously find that the Government has established beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant intentionally participated in an act, i.e. lying to federal agents on August 16-17, 2001.
  • Do you, the jury, unanimously find that the Government has established beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant participated in the act, i.e. lying to federal agents on August 16-17, 2001, contemplating that the life of a person would be taken or intending that lethal force would be used in connection with a person, other than one of the participants in the offense.
  • Do you, the jury, unanimously find that the Government has established beyond a reasonable doubt that victims died on September 11, 2001, as a direct result of the defendant's act, i.e. Mr. Moussaoui's lies to federal agents on August 16-17, 2001.

Did the Government prove the last one? I don't think so. Note that the period covers only two days -- August 16, the day of his arrest in Minnesota to August 17, when he halted questioning by asking for a lawyer. The Government surely disagrees with this and it will be interesting to see if the Judge goes along with the defense view. If she does, means that the defense has won on the issue of whether the Government can use Moussaoui's silence between the time he asked for a lawyer and 9/11 against him.

The Government is trying to argue that by not coming forward with what he knew before 9/11, he prevented them from taking measures to stop the hijackers, which directly resulted in at least one death. The Judge almost granted a mistrial over the issue when the prosecutor asked an FBI agent about Moussaui's failure to contact them after he cut off the interviews and before 9/11. The defense pointed out that he had a right not to incriminate himself and his silence couldn't be used against him. The death penalty statute covers only affirmative acts, such as lies, not omissions, such as failure to say something.

Moussaoui will undergo more cross-examination this afternoon.

Update: The defense objections (pdf) to the prosecution's jury instructions are also illuminating, particularly the section beginning on page 12, "8. Intentionally Participating in an Act."

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    Moussaoui Verdict Form: Questions Jury Will Have to Answer | 7 comments (7 topical)
    Re: Moussaoui Verdict Form: Questions Jury Will H (none / 0) (#2)
    by Dadler on Mon Mar 27, 2006 at 11:37:47 AM EST
    I guess at this point it's going to come down to whether the jury believes the defendent before them on the stand. The defense lawyers' worst nightmares in this instance.

    Re: Moussaoui Verdict Form: Questions Jury Will H (none / 0) (#5)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Mon Mar 27, 2006 at 12:14:37 PM EST
    I concur, narius. Certainly Moussaoui answered items (i) and (ii) directly in the affirmative. Item (iii) is slightly less obvious and more open to supposition. Could the FBI had stopped the attacks, had Moussaoui told them all he knew on August 16-17th? Who knows. Even with all their operational blunders leading up to 9/11, had Moussaoui provided the details and names he knew (especially given the fact the 19 hijackers made no attempt to disguise their real identities), it's difficult to believe nothing would have come of it

    Re: Moussaoui Verdict Form: Questions Jury Will H (none / 0) (#6)
    by Dadler on Mon Mar 27, 2006 at 12:18:05 PM EST
    narius, why give him what he wants? why give the enemy ANYthing they want? seems to me you'd want to outsmart the enemy by making THEM play a game they CAN'T win, as opposed to playing THEIR game, as we are now, that WE can't win in any satisfactory sense.

    Re: Moussaoui Verdict Form: Questions Jury Will H (none / 0) (#7)
    by Quaker in a Basement on Mon Mar 27, 2006 at 12:43:55 PM EST
    Prediction: He's toast. I think the odds are against the possibility that even one member of the jury 1) is capable of making the distinction between the law and his or her own bloodlust and 2) is willing to stand up against the majority. In fact, I'll be surprised if deliberations take more than a couple of days.

    Re: Moussaoui Verdict Form: Questions Jury Will H (none / 0) (#9)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Mon Mar 27, 2006 at 02:39:08 PM EST
    The final verdict form issued by the Judge will show whether the issue is, as Chase wrote above, whether someone died because Moussaoui didn't tell all he knew. I think the Judge should make it only whether someone died as a result of his lies on August 16 and 17.

    Re: Moussaoui Verdict Form: Questions Jury Will H (none / 0) (#10)
    by Peaches on Mon Mar 27, 2006 at 02:45:53 PM EST
    I think the odds are against the possibility that even one member of the jury 1) is capable of making the distinction between the law and his or her own bloodlust and 2) is willing to stand up against the majority.
    It is entirely possible, QIB, that someone with your sensibilities may be on the jury. A little optimism, please. Not all Americans are driven by bloodlust. A significant minority may even be driven by higher motives--possibly even a majority in this case. I hope your prediction does not turn out correct.

    Re: Moussaoui Verdict Form: Questions Jury Will H (none / 0) (#11)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Mon Mar 27, 2006 at 03:22:19 PM EST
    The guy wants to die. End of story. He's bailin' out the prosecution and there's nothin' the defense can do except hope the jury takes some measure of pity on the guy because he's obviously out of his mind.

    Moussaoui Verdict Form: Questions Jury Will Have to Answer | 7 comments (7 topical)