Moussaoui asks court to allow his terrorism trial to be televised

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Posted 1:07PM on Friday, January 4, 2002

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - Zacarias Moussaoui, the first person charged as an accomplice in the Sept. 11 attacks, asked a judge Friday to allow cameras to televise his conspiracy trial this fall. "Mr. Moussaoui recognizes that the American criminal justice system will be on display for the entire world as the trial of this action proceeds," said a defense motion supporting a proposal by Court TV to carry the proceedings. Televising the trial would "add an additional layer of protection to see these proceedings are fairly conducted," his lawyers argued in the motion. Normally, cameras are banned from federal courtrooms although the Oklahoma City bombing trial was shown on closed-circuit TV to the victims' families. The government was expected to weigh in later Friday with its recommendation. Moussaoui's motion asked the judge not to permit televising any pretrial proceedings. Jury selection is set to begin Sept. 30, with opening arguments to begin about two weeks later. The defense expressed concern that anything said during pretrial arguments and during jury selection could prejudice potential jurors who may "become exposed to information that will not be admissible at trial." The defense motion also asked that if the jury wasn't sequestered -- confined after trial hours to a hotel or secure location to avoid publicity -- TV cameras should be restricted to live coverage. They asked the judge to prohibit replaying the tape when jurors might be able to watch it. "There is a risk that a nonsequestered jury might, despite the order of the court, see testimony that has already been given in court and thus give undo weight to the replayed testimony," the lawyers argued. Court TV has asked U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema for permission to broadcast the trial. Although many state courts allow trials to be broadcast, federal rules explicitly prohibit TV cameras in courtrooms. Lawyers for Court TV have argued that prohibition is unconstitutional. The cable network also asked to broadcast pretrial proceedings. A hearing on Court TV's request is scheduled for next week. Moussaoui is charged with conspiring with Osama bin Laden, the hijackers and others to commit the Sept. 11 attacks and could get the death penalty if convicted. Congress allowed families of the Oklahoma City bombing victims to watch Timothy McVeigh's trial on a closed-circuit broadcast. Sen. George Allen, R-Va., has introduced similar legislation for the Moussaoui trial and the families of the Sept. 11 victims. The bill has passed the Senate and will be considered by the House. Four federal circuit courts have upheld the constitutionality of the federal rule barring the broadcast of criminal trials. But those cases were heard between 1983 and 1988, and technology has changed since then to make cameras much less disruptive, Court TV has argued. Court TV, a division of AOL Time Warner, has televised more than 700 trials and judicial proceedings since its inception in 1991. Among the most notable televised trials was that of O.J. Simpson.