Reuters Judge Sets Dates in Moussaoui Sept. 11 Trial WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- The U.S. government has until March 29 to
say whether it plans to seek the death penalty for Zacarias
Moussaoui, the first person indicted in connection with the Sept. 11
attacks on the United States. U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema issued an order, released by
the Justice Department on Friday, setting out a timeline for various
aspects of the Moussaoui trial, which will be held in the Washington
suburb of Alexandria, Virginia. Brinkema said Moussaoui's lawyers had until March 1 to present
any written briefs regarding the applicability of the death penalty.
Oral arguments will be made no later than March 15. If the government wants to seek the death penalty, it must do so
by March 29, with oral arguments set for April 4. Moussaoui, a French citizen of Moroccan descent who was detained
a few weeks before the Sept. 11 attacks, has been indicted on six
counts of conspiracy in the hijacked airliner attacks on the World
Trade Center and the Pentagon that killed nearly 3,300 people. Four of the counts carry a maximum punishment of the death
penalty while the other two carry a maximum sentence of life in
prison. U.S. officials have said Moussaoui may have been preparing to be
a member of the four hijacking teams behind the attacks. He was
initially arrested on immigration violations after he aroused
suspicion by trying to buy time on a jumbo jet flight simulator at a
flight school. COMPLEX, UNUSUAL CASE Brinkema also agreed to a request by the defense and prosecutors
to waive the 70-day time limit between the arraignment and the
beginning of trial. ``This case is both unusual and highly complex due to the
international scope of the evidence, the potential for the death
penalty and the probability that information subject to the
Classified Information Procedures Act is involved,'' the judge
said. As a result, she said the 70-day limit would not give either the
government or the defense sufficient time to prepare for pretrial
motions or for the trial. Brinkema said all parties must be prepared to discuss proposed
dates for pretrial hearings and the trial at Moussaoui's Jan. 2
arraignment. At the arraignment next Wednesday, Moussaoui is expected to enter
a formal plea to the charges. Moussaoui's mother, Aicha el-Wafi, arrived in Virginia on
Thursday. She told reporters her son was innocent and appealed for
him not to be made into a scapegoat. She spent part of Friday at the Alexandria courthouse where the
trial will be held, meeting with the court-appointed team of lawyers
who will be defending her son. Copyright © 2001. Reuters. All rights reserved. saved from url: http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/news/news-attack-moussaoui.html
December 28, 2001
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