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Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Seeks End to " SAMS" Restrictions

By Jeralyn, Section Terror Trials
Posted on Thu Oct 03, 2013 at 08:28:00 AM EST
Tags: Boston Marathon Bombing, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev (all tags)
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Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's lawyers have filed a motion to end the SAMS restrictions on Tsarnaev and his legal team.

The SAMS imposed on Tsarnaev are attached to the motion as an exhibit. Take a minute to read them. But for all the alphabet references to federal agencies, I would have thought the jail was in Russia. The motion is here.

The documents also contain some interesting Government theories about Dzhokhar, some of which are at odds with other information released by the Government (the motion discusses this aspect.)

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    Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Seeks End to " SAMS" Restrictions | 14 comments (14 topical)

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    Reads like something... (5.00 / 4) (#1)
    by Dadler on Thu Oct 03, 2013 at 08:54:11 AM EST
    ...out of an Orwell book. A joke if it weren't so inhumane and cruel for the sport of it.

    I always thought Eric Holder was a decent guy (5.00 / 2) (#4)
    by TycheSD on Thu Oct 03, 2013 at 04:08:58 PM EST
    I expected fair treatment of Tsarnaev.  This memorandum, supposedly written by Holder, is just scary.  Ahmed Abu Ali got this same treatment before his trial too.  This government is out of control.

    Just say it's for his own safety... (none / 0) (#2)
    by unitron on Thu Oct 03, 2013 at 12:57:00 PM EST
    ...since I'm sure there are plenty of people who'd like to do him harm if they could get to him.

    I suppose there is a certain irony to doing our best to keep him alive so that he's available for us to execute when the time comes, but at least that's due process and getting shanked in the shower ain't.

    True truth Unitron... (none / 0) (#3)
    by fishcamp on Thu Oct 03, 2013 at 03:59:34 PM EST


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    There but for the grace of God... and that from (none / 0) (#5)
    by gbrbsb on Fri Oct 04, 2013 at 06:45:59 AM EST
    the heart of an atheist.

    Such extreme isolation (did I read somewhere that not even the guards are allowed to converse with prisoners in these cases and just shove the food in through a hatch?) can still be sane enough to plead by the time they get to court. Only the most integral of us could take it for even a short period and imo a teen is unlikely to have reached that inner strength and self sufficiency.

    The restrictions of mail, phone and visits to only "immediate family members" (most of which he doesn't have and those he does have are abroad), would leave detainees without immediate family no contact with human kind except for lawyers, so I would hope that to avoid complete dehumanisation in such cases a voluntary organisation would be allowed to phone, correspond or visit instead but I will probably be accused of being too soft.

    I must proof read. I must proof read. I must... (none / 0) (#7)
    by gbrbsb on Fri Oct 04, 2013 at 07:00:26 AM EST
    First paragraph after " (did I read... through a hatch?)" was to read before I accidentally left it out:

    "makes me wonder if such prisoners can still be sane enough to plead by the time they get to court."


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    how can the attorneys possibly work (none / 0) (#6)
    by cate999 on Fri Oct 04, 2013 at 06:56:31 AM EST
    Do these measures mean that the FBI and Dept of Justice have access to all the communications between Dzhokhar and his legal team? isn't that supposed to be confidential? is that normal in prisons for it all to be recorded? that gives the prosecution an unfair advantage if they know everything the defense is doing.

    I remember reading about how the lawyers in quantanomo bay couldnt work as their communications with their clients were monitored and all their communications intercepted with their clients - isn't this the same thing?

    It seems like the defense are concerned they could face similar charges to Lynne Stewart in the process of representing their client as it is so undefined what would actually breach the measures enforced? is it legal for the prosecution to attempt to intimidate the opposing legal team in this manner?

    The SAM restrictions linked by TL (none / 0) (#10)
    by Peter G on Fri Oct 04, 2013 at 04:39:06 PM EST
    make clear that attorney-client communications remain entirely confidential.  The SAMs make these communications burdensome, but do not affect confidentiality.

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    Wondering if it's the FBI putting pressure on (none / 0) (#8)
    by TycheSD on Fri Oct 04, 2013 at 02:54:03 PM EST
    The correspondence between Carmen Ortiz and Miriam Conrad seemed cordial - going by the attachments to defense motion.  Is it law enforcement that wants him cut off from outside contact and they put pressure on Ortiz to request these restrictions?  I'm not an attorney and don't know what the relationship is between the U.S. Attorney and the FBI.

    My take, based on many years of experience (none / 0) (#9)
    by Peter G on Fri Oct 04, 2013 at 04:33:46 PM EST
    in the federal criminal justice system, but not in any SAMS case, is that the BOP will do the bidding of the FBI without question, and the US Atty will view the FBI as their client -- to give independent advice whether a proposed course of action is wise, but then to defend what the FBI decides it wants to do to the extent they can come up with an arguable legal justification for it.

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    Would Holder just initial whatever the FBI wanted? (none / 0) (#11)
    by TycheSD on Sat Oct 05, 2013 at 01:26:21 PM EST
    Wouldn't people working for Eric Holder, or Holder himself, exercise independent judgment as to whether imposing SAMs was a good idea, or would he just go along with what the FBI (via Ortiz) requested?

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    That's the same question (none / 0) (#12)
    by Peter G on Sat Oct 05, 2013 at 01:44:49 PM EST
    that I already answered.

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    Was talking about Ortiz earlier (none / 0) (#13)
    by TycheSD on Sat Oct 05, 2013 at 05:26:54 PM EST
    Holder is Ortiz's boss, so she would have sent the request to him.  I was trying to give Holder the benefit of the doubt.  Apparently, Carmen Ortiz does have a reputation as being aggressive in her prosecutorial techniques.  I always thought Eric Holder was an ACLU type, but I guess not.

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    Ummmmm (5.00 / 1) (#14)
    by Zorba on Sat Oct 05, 2013 at 06:42:33 PM EST
    Eric Holder, an ACLU type?  Not so much.  If he is a member, which I doubt, he needs to give up his membership.  YMMV.


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    Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Seeks End to " SAMS" Restrictions | 14 comments (14 topical)

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