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al-Arian Trial is a Mess
Confusion about the status of an FBI agent during a month of testimony in the terror-support trial of Sami Al-Arian brought pleas for a mistrial Monday. FBI Agent Kerry Myers spent weeks on the witness stand summarizing prosecution evidence and explaining coded references and other context in more than 400 intercepted telephone calls and faxes. Prosecutors offered Myers as an expert witness on the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and defense attorneys assumed he was accepted as one.He wasn't. U.S. District Judge James Moody limited the scope of Myers' cross- examination that started Wednesday. On Monday, Moody rejected a mistrial motion from attorneys for defendant Hatim Fariz. When Myers first took the stand, Moody told jurors they should decide how much weight to give the agent's opinions, ``and you can understand how that could cause heartburn for any defendant in any case if they have an FBI agent up there testifying as an expert.'' And would the judge like to explain what sort of credentials he would accept in order to consider a person an "expert" on terror or terrorist organizations? Is there some sort of degree I didn't know about? On Monday, Moody said the court never recognized Myers as an expert and that he allowed the agent to answer questions based only upon documents in evidence. Defense attorneys say they didn't know that until cross- examination began. ``The defense has thus far been largely foreclosed from cross-examining Agent Myers on the quality of his investigation, despite his role in the case,'' wrote Allison Guagliardo, an attorney for Fariz, in a motion for a mistrial. ``If the defense counsel were misled and confused, then there is a significant likelihood that the jury was as well,'' Guagliardo wrote. As well as anybody reading this sloppy, uninformative article. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Read on: Defense attorney William Moffitt, who represents Al-Arian, said he structured cross- examination believing Myers was treated as an expert witness. His questioning on Wednesday drew repeated prosecution objections, which Moody upheld. Moffitt argued for more latitude at the time, noting that Myers testified about the Islamic Jihad's definition of a martyr, interpreted coded language in conversations and faxes, and said that Al-Arian became the most powerful man in the group after his reform plan passed in 1994. ``That clearly was based on his expertise, his investigation and all those things,'' Moffitt said Wednesday. Yes, it was. So here we have the defense willing to concede that the agent is an expert, but an "impartial" judge who will not. If this is confusing to you, join the club. ``You can't turn him into a different kind of witness and start going other places,'' Moody said. ``You can put on your own witness to do that.'' A second issue threatened to derail the case Monday. Two jurors reported that a third juror has made comments about the case despite Moody's instructions not to talk about it. Prompted by a juror's note, the judge, just before a lunch break last week, reminded the group of his original instructions. After meeting with attorneys Monday, he agreed to find out what prompted the note. Two jurors, a man and a woman who sit next to each other, each said they heard a man make comments about the case. Each said the references dealt with the Islamic Academy of Florida, a private school Al-Arian used to run. ``He thought it was a front'' for the Islamic Jihad, the male juror said. Note to juror: save your analysis for Rantburg. Disobeying the jury instructions is going to result in a mistrial or worse. Al-Arian and three other men face a 53-count indictment charging them with helping finance and run the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The female juror acknowledged she wrote last week's note and identified the speaker as a man who sits behind her. He doesn't mention specific evidence, she said, but he does make comments. ``He's so pro-government,'' she said. As opposed to... what, exactly? We'll never know, because the biased and/or inept "reporter" wouldn't know how to write a coherent story if his life depended upon it. Jurors' identities are being kept secret. Moody has said he does not want anything done to identify them publicly and subject them to questions or pressure from relatives or friends. This is Jury 101. Why even waste the ink to write it? It's not clear what if anything will happen. Attorneys discussed the issue at the judge's bench. The defense wants the juror removed from the panel and may want a mistrial. Moody asked them to submit relevant case law. Meanwhile, all the defense attorneys received a summary of a classified report concerning an Islamic Jihad plot to attack inside the United States. Myers referenced the plot, which he said was thwarted, during cross-examination last week. He said he could not answer detailed questions because of the secret nature of the report. Two attorneys, Guagliardo and Bruce Howie, who represents Ghassan Ballut, have security clearances and were able to read the entire report. Before Moody cut him off, Moffitt referred to the plot as ``a rogue operation undertaken by a member.'' The judge offered the attorneys a chance to question Myers further, but none accepted. He also rejected a prosecution request to inform the jury that defense attorneys have been given more information about the alleged plot. If this is the way all al-Arian stories are reported, it's no wonder people believe him when he claims it's a "witch-hunt". This article is so slanted in al-Arian's favor you'd swear it was typed by his lawyer. Face it folks, this guy is going to walk if this keeps up. The best we can hope for is a mistrial, if this article is even close to the truth. Posted by: Chris W. 2005-08-30 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=128129 |