ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 16 (UPI) -- A federal judge Friday granted a request by Zacarias Moussaoui -- the only person charged in the Sept. 11 terror attacks -- to postpone the start of his trial from September to October. Moussaoui -- who is serving as his own attorney -- had requested a continuance of unspecified length in order to absorb the considerable amount of evidence the prosecutors have turned over as part of discovery.
Moussaoui and his standby attorneys -- who he refuses to cooperate with -- have received hundreds of videotapes and CD ROMs of evidence the government is considering using at trial that represent thousands of pages of evidence.
In his hand-written request dated July 31, Moussaoui used his typically combative legal motion style to request the delay by calling it "Motion to postponed (sic) the (U.S. District Judge) Leonie Brinkema Travesty of Justice Trial."
Moussaoui argued court motions that have limited his contact with witnesses and his ability to collect evidence made the Sept. 30 trial date impossible. As a result he requested a change "to an alternative, unspecified date."
In arguing for the delay, the standby public defenders -- who Moussaoui refers to as the "Death Squad Lawyers" because they work for the government -- blamed the amount of discovery supplied by the government for the needed delay.
"It is the government which has so swamped Mr. Moussaoui's boat with discovery that he cannot bail it out in time to be prepared for trial on the date currently set," a motion by Frank Dunham says. "Even as he and standby counsel endeavor to do so, the government continues to turn over still ore discovery (40 more CD-ROMs on Aug. 15th, plus government exhibits we have never seen before that are wholly or partially in a foreign language, probably Malay.)"
Government prosecutors argued -- unsuccessfully -- that by acting as his own lawyer, Moussaoui knowingly undertook action that limited his ability to defend himself. The government also claimed that it took steps to limit the amount of information turned over as part of the discovery process.
But Brinkema decided that a delay was necessary.
"Although the public's right to a speedy trial is a legitimate concern, this Court's paramount concern is ensuring that the defendant receive a fair trial," Brinkema wrote in Friday's decision. "The volume and complexity of the evidence in this prosecution fully support the defense request for a brief continuance of the trial date."
The new date is set for Jan. 6, 2003, with preliminary jury selection starting on Dec. 9.
