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U.S. Judge Hears Arguments on Televising Moussaoui Trial
ALEXANDRIA, Virginia, Jan. 9 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Federal Judge Leonie Brinkema, Wednesday heard arguments for and against televising the trial of Frenchman Zacarias Moussaoui, the first person charged in connection with the September 11 attacks on U.S. landmarks.
With Moussaoui looking on, Brinkema said she would not make a decision Wednesday in the matter presented at a half-hour-long District Court hearing here, where lawyers for the U.S. government, Court TV and Moussaoui offered their arguments.
She said the parties made "interesting" points on "significant" issues and added that the decision would be handed down on January 15 "at the earliest."
In dealing with the question of whether cameras were obtrusive in court, Brinkema noted there were two cameras in her courtroom on Wednesday, to provide a closed circuit feed of the proceedings to the neighboring courtroom.
But she did voice concerns over whether it was prudent to allow a permanent photographic record of the trial, noting that the images could be transmitted by Internet and seen worldwide, news agencies reported.
“It does certainly pose a security risk,” she said.
The bearded 33-year-old Moussaoui, with a balding pate and clad in a green jumpsuit, sat relatively expressionless in the small courtroom as the attorneys presented their arguments.
Scheduled to go on trial October 14, Moussaoui faces charges of conspiring with Saudi dissident, Osama bin Laden, whom the U.S. government suspects of masterminding the attacks, which left more than 3,100 people dead.
Edward MacMahon, a lawyer for Moussaoui, said in brief remarks to the court Wednesday that the defendant does not object to the presence of cameras in the courtroom.
In a memorandum filed with the court on Friday, MacMahon noted Moussaoui's consent to the trial being televised, adding, however, that this consent "is dependent upon whether the jury in this case is sequestered.”
“Mr. Moussaoui doesn't object to Court TV's motion,” he said. “He believes it would assist in an added layer of protection for other people to see and watch.
"This consent is also contingent upon Courtroom Television providing a live feed of the trial proceedings to all interested broadcasters worldwide." Court TV broadcasts legal proceedings to about 66 million cable television subscribers.
The defense has said broadcasting the proceedings would help ensure a fair trial, while prosecutors - represented at Wednesday's hearing by Justice Department attorney, Elizabeth Collery - maintain it would pose a significant security risk, particularly for witnesses testifying in the trial.
Federal prosecutors on Friday expressed concern that broadcasting the trial might help Al-Qaeda members identify and retaliate against prosecution witnesses.
But they also saw potential threats to judges, jurors and U.S. Marshal Service personnel, who would "no longer have a lower public profile" if the trial were televised. They also noted that televised trials are already banned in federal court
Lee Levine, an attorney for Court TV, maintains that banning television coverage of the trial would be "unconstitutional."
Prosecutors have challenged this claim, however, insisting that, "while the First Amendment includes a right to attend criminal trials, it does not include a right to observe such proceedings on television."
Levine called the case "extraordinary" and insisted that it "needs to be seen on television." He argued that the public had the right to free access to hear and observe the trial, given its importance, and the judge should declare rules that ban cameras in the court unconstitutional and allow them in this case, news agencies reported.
He acknowledged there might be witnesses who wish not to appear on television, or whom the judge feels should not be shown on television, and he said Court TV would honor those requests, as it had in past televised trials.
He noted that "audio-only" testimony could be "appropriate" in those cases.
Moussaoui has been charged with six counts of conspiracy, including conspiracy to destroy aircraft, use weapons of mass destruction and murder of U.S. employees. He could face the death penalty on four of those counts.
On January 2, Brinkema entered pleas of not guilty to all charges on Moussaoui's behalf, after he declined to plead.
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