Moussaoui Conviction Upheld But....

Supporters of trying terrorists like Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in civilian courts like to scoff at the concerns of their opponents. They say, 'hey, we successfully tried Zacarias Moussaoui in federal court, so why not KSM?".

As Andy McCarthy observes, the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Moussaoui's sentence yesterday but the case only has a happy ending because Moussaoui pleaded guilty.

The appellate court notes that Moussaoui claims it was error for the trial judge to interfere with his unqualified right to represent himself; "to have personal, pretrial access to classified, exculpatory evidence"; and to be able to summon witnesses like co-conspirator Khalid Sheikh Mohammed for trial testimony. The Fourth Circuit acknowledges that all these claims have merit, but the court finds that Moussaoui, by pleading guilty, waived any claim of prejudice. Opinion at pp. 24–28. Even more alarming, the Fourth Circuit concedes that its waiver rationale is inconsistent with a decision by the Ninth Circuit on which Moussaoui relies — i.e., if the Fourth Circuit had followed the Ninth Circuit, there's a good chance it would have had to agree that, regardless of the guilty plea, Moussaoui's convictions should be reversed.

That split in the reasoning by the circuit courts could lead to a Supreme Court appeal and there's no telling where His Imperial Majesty Anthony M. Kennedy will come down on any given day, nor a Wise Latina so there still may be some hope for Moussaoui to get a new trial.

Based on the 4th Circuit's rulling imagine that KSM doesn't just plead guilty (why would he?) and decides to represent himself, he most likely will get to see all the classified materials we have on him and his 'associates'.

Undoubtedly the left will claim that he can't do any damage with that information since he's going to spend the rest of his life in jail.

Ok but what guarantee is there that he's going to jail forever? Are those so ardent to see due process for these guys saying the trials are rigged? But don't worry, it's not as if there's ever been a case where a lefty lawyer has passed messages on for convicted terrorists or anything.

Read the rest of McCarthy's piece for a reminder of just how stupid and dangerous a game Obama is playing by giving these terrorists the same rights and protections you and I enjoy.

posted by DrewM. at 12:32 PM

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