NYC terror trial venue

by TONI H Jan 31, 2010 11:31PM PST

A question....since this venue is being considered by the WH to be changed and new location is being sought, I wonder if, since the WH feels that having a Federal court trial will be safe no matter where it is held, they have ever considered the possibility of having the trial held in Washington DC itself, since the Pentagon was also hit? This way the trial could still be held in close proximity to a site that was attacked since they argued the point of having it in NYC across from the Tower site as a good signal to the terrorists that they could get a fair trial in a civilian court system and it was considered by the WH that the proper place to show that to the world was in NYC.

TONI H

Discussion is locked

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Not so sure why venue is so important

by Steven Haninger Jan 31, 2010 11:54PM PST

I think, however, there is reason to consider the defendant's "last stand" will be used to create an image of himself as a martyr and, thus, rally others of his ilk. Most important to that in my opinion will be how our own American press handles the trial. I can't say I've much confidence that they won't help this guy make his case.

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I agree with you

by TONI H Feb 1, 2010 12:09AM PST

However, if the WH is so gun-ho on having this 'guy' on trial in a civilian court, I wonder why they never considered having that trial in the backyard of the Pentagon instead?

There are hundreds of good reason to NOT have this held in a civilian court....the first of which is that he has never been given his Miranda rights and his defense attorneys could easily use that as an argument to have all charges dropped against him immediately.

From what I understand from reports I've been reading and hearing for quite a while in all types of media, his military tribunal trial was already being prepared for at Gitmo and the WH after Obama took office immediately called a halt to that as one of the first steps of closing Gitmo. It was done quietly and without any media fanfare, and then Holder made the announcement months later that NYC would be used for his civilian trial instead (which amounted to nothing more than the WH's attempt at showing the world what a gentler, kinder President he would be and that all in the world, terrorist or not, would get a 'fair trial' in the USA....even while publicly stating that he would get the death penalty well ahead of any trial being held...so how 'fair' is that when the President himself declares the outcome of that trial?)

TONI H

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I'm sure that any Miranda issues.....

by Josh K Feb 1, 2010 1:33AM PST

....have already been reviewed carefully. Nobody would be stupid enough to send a guy to trial when there was a chance that the case could get tossed within minutes.

Maybe they could just drive him up to New York and release him. With enough advance notice to attract a crowd of NYC well-wishers, of course.

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As well as an assembly of a jury of his peers...

by Steven Haninger Feb 1, 2010 1:41AM PST

and about the only place you might find 12 people who've not heard of him might be in some West Virginia hollow. Come to think of it, that might be perfect.

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Finding a venue won't be easy.

by Angeline Booher Feb 1, 2010 2:15AM PST

I started loooking to see if DC had an appropriate court for such a trial.

http://www.dccourts.gov/dccourts/index.jsp

From there I found:

The Superior Court handles all local trial matters, including civil, criminal, family court, probate, tax, landlord-tenant, small claims, and traffic. The Superior Court is here to serve the community, and several initiatives and collaborative projects are underway to improve service to the public in our Nation's Capital.

http://www.dccourts.gov/dccourts/superior/index.jsp

But it looks like that court is set up to serve DC., so perhaps DC desn't have the proper coirt.

It's going to be hard to find a venue. One of the reasons NYC rejected it was because of the cost involved.

The trial can't be at Gitmo though it is on American soil. No jury pool.

The decision was made some time ago that eliminates his having a military trial.

Angeline

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Alexandria...

by J. Vega Feb 1, 2010 3:07AM PST

Angeline, remember the recent trial of the former member of Congress caught with cash in his freezer? That trial was conducted in Alexandria, Va. I would think that would be the place if they wanted to do it in the D.C. area. on The Metro trains, you can get to Alexandria in minutes. The end of the Yellow line in Alexandria is just a couple of stops and 5 minutes or so from the Pentagon stop.
I don't think that the decision made some time ago eliminates his having a military trial. To move it into the Civilian venue, the military case was dismissed, but it was dismissed "without prejudice", meaning that the charges could be reinstated.

NYC terror trial venue

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