I have to talk fast because I'm giving a closing argument in a "regular" felony assault case first thing this morning and have to spend the next few hours worrying about that. Here goes:

Time and again Attorney General Ashcroft's "terrorism" cases have begun with explosive allegations in the media and ended in dismissal or minor, non-terrorism related offenses. To date, the only conviction in a terrorism case, US v. Koubriti, was thrown out because of egregious governmental misconduct (2004 US Dist. LEXIS 17561 (ED Mich. 2004)).

We expect our Aref/Hossain case, which began with a bang, will end with a whimper too.

The wheels started to come off almost immediately and, once the government's exaggerations and false claims were scrutinized, it became clear the case was nothing more than a squalid little frame-up in which two hardworking, devoutly religious immigrants (and their wives, children and community) had been victimized.

CIPA, which the feds now seek to invoke, is highly problematic and if I had a few hours to spare, I'd catalogue all of its constitutional problems. Suffice it to say that if the statute is invoked it contemplates a protective order which would require, among other things, that a security area be set up in the courthouse where evidence could only be reviewed under Big Brother's direct supervision. It also requires that security clearances must be obtained by counsel, and there are a number of other restrictions that lock on.

If CIPA locks on we're not allowed to write anything down and take it out of the security room to be set up in the courthouse. Everything stays there. I don't know whether the government agents will be equipped with those little devices they had in "Men in Black" where they can flash a light in your face and completely erase your memory, but nothing would surprise me.

I've already applied for a security clearance so I can stay in the case. As someone who has been an officer of the United States Courts since 1974 I really am offended to have to do that, but I've got a client to defend, so I signed a pile of releases and sent my tax returns to the government (I guess they already had them anyway) and gave them my fingerprints, etc.

Ironically, at the moment the feds are attempting to invoke CIPA without any clear showing that actual classified information even exists in our case. They seem to be doing a lot of form-over-substance posturing and I have a sense this will ultimately work to our advantage. Fortunately, we have entered the post-Crawford era, and the Aref/Hossain case is before Senior District Court Judge Thomas A. McAvoy, a very thoughtful and forceful Judge who has very little patience for cloak and dagger government shenanigans.

On balance I'm hopeful that we'll come out on top, and, ultimately, ours will be one more case where the government's overreaching will blow up in its face. Couldn't happen to a nicer bunch. I'll buy the drinks.

Please keep up your brilliant and good works and thanks for asking about our case. tlk

I'll keep you posted

Remember, a vote for Bush is a vote to keep Ashcroft in power for another four years. Today it's defendants accused of terrorism offenses whose rights are being trampled. Tomorrow it could be the rights of someone you care about. Rights don't mean much unless they apply to everyone.