Moussaoui trial delayed
on Nov 15, 2005 at 11:01 am
The death penalty trial of Zacarias Moussaoui, the only individual accused in the U.S. of crimes related to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, has been delayed for a month, under a federal judge’s new order late Monday.
Instead of beginning next Jan. 9, the trial will begin with jury selection procedures on Feb. 6. U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema in Alexandria, Va., said both sides had asked for the delay due to “the complex nature of the evidence, much of which is classified.” In addition, she indicated, there is the difficult issue of crafting “substitutions” for the testimony of Al Qaeda operatives, who will not be personally on the stand as defense witnesses.
Under the new schedule, jurors are to appear on Feb. 6, and, assuming that it takes a month to select a jury pool, the trial would begin on March 6 with final selection of 18 jurors, followed by opening statements. Some 500 potential jurors will be summoned in order to try to pick a jury pool of 85, according to the order.
If the proceeding results in a death sentence for Moussaoui, an appeal to the Fourth Circuit and ultimately to the Supreme Court is expected. The Supreme Court refused on March 21 to hear an initial appeal by Moussaoui. He has since pleaded guilty to terrorism conspiracy charges.
