zimv20
Aug 21, 2006, 06:23 PM
link (http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/news/nation/15326427.htm)
The U.S. government's high-profile terror case against Jose Padilla and two other Muslims has suffered another serious setback as their Miami trial looms in January.
U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke threw out the first count in the indictment -- that the threesome conspired to murder, kidnap and maim persons in a foreign country -- saying it repeated the main alleged ''conspiracy to advance violent jihad'' in two other charges.
''There can be no question that the government has charged a single conspiracy offense multiple times, in separate counts, when in law and in fact, only one [alleged] crime has been committed,'' Cooke wrote in an eight-page ruling released to prosecutors and defense lawyers on Monday.
''The danger raised by a multiplicitous indictment is present in the instant indictment,'' she wrote, stressing that it violates the ''double jeopardy'' clause of the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution -- the prosecution or punishment of a defendant twice for the same offense.
The judge's ruling -- a major pretrial victory for defense attorneys Kenneth Swartz, Jeanne Baker, William Swor, Michael Caruso, Orlando do Campo, Anthony Natale and Andrew Patel -- was the latest blow to the government's case. The first count in the indictment carried a maximum penalty of life in prison.
The U.S. Attorney's Office is likely to appeal, which could delay the Jan. 22 trial. ''We stand by the charges in this indictment and will respond after a full review of the court's order,'' said U.S. Attorney R. Alexander Acosta.
In the same opinion, Cooke also ruled that prosecutors must choose between charging Padilla and the other two defendants as part of a five-year or 15-year conspiracy to provide support for terrorist activity overseas. Depending how they are charged, the defendants -- if convicted -- could face up to five years or 15 years in prison.
For them to receive the harshest punishment -- life imprisonment -- prosecutors would have to prove that Padilla and Adham Amin Hassoun and Kifah Wael Jayyousi, the alleged ringleaders of a South Florida-based terrorist cell, directly contributed to a violent jihad that resulted in deaths abroad.
(more)
The U.S. government's high-profile terror case against Jose Padilla and two other Muslims has suffered another serious setback as their Miami trial looms in January.
U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke threw out the first count in the indictment -- that the threesome conspired to murder, kidnap and maim persons in a foreign country -- saying it repeated the main alleged ''conspiracy to advance violent jihad'' in two other charges.
''There can be no question that the government has charged a single conspiracy offense multiple times, in separate counts, when in law and in fact, only one [alleged] crime has been committed,'' Cooke wrote in an eight-page ruling released to prosecutors and defense lawyers on Monday.
''The danger raised by a multiplicitous indictment is present in the instant indictment,'' she wrote, stressing that it violates the ''double jeopardy'' clause of the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution -- the prosecution or punishment of a defendant twice for the same offense.
The judge's ruling -- a major pretrial victory for defense attorneys Kenneth Swartz, Jeanne Baker, William Swor, Michael Caruso, Orlando do Campo, Anthony Natale and Andrew Patel -- was the latest blow to the government's case. The first count in the indictment carried a maximum penalty of life in prison.
The U.S. Attorney's Office is likely to appeal, which could delay the Jan. 22 trial. ''We stand by the charges in this indictment and will respond after a full review of the court's order,'' said U.S. Attorney R. Alexander Acosta.
In the same opinion, Cooke also ruled that prosecutors must choose between charging Padilla and the other two defendants as part of a five-year or 15-year conspiracy to provide support for terrorist activity overseas. Depending how they are charged, the defendants -- if convicted -- could face up to five years or 15 years in prison.
For them to receive the harshest punishment -- life imprisonment -- prosecutors would have to prove that Padilla and Adham Amin Hassoun and Kifah Wael Jayyousi, the alleged ringleaders of a South Florida-based terrorist cell, directly contributed to a violent jihad that resulted in deaths abroad.
(more)
