Moussaoui lawyers seek to delay trial to allow pretrial appeals to Supreme Court News
Moussaoui lawyers seek to delay trial to allow pretrial appeals to Supreme Court

[JURIST] Lawyers for accused terrorist Zacarias Moussaoui have sought to further delay the start of his trial while they pursue an appeal of pretrial issues to the US Supreme Court. Moussaoui's attorneys argued for the delay in a Monday filing responding to an effort by the US government to set a May trial date. According to the defense, Moussaoui has until Jan. 11, 2005, to file an appeal with the Supreme Court over access to three al-Qaeda members held by the US that Moussaoui claims will aid his case; defense attorneys say that it would be a waste of the trial court's time for it to proceed before the Supreme Court could decide whether to take the appeal. Moussaoui, the only suspect charged with conspiracy in the Sept. 11 terror attacks, was indicted in December 2001. Read the government motion [PDF] and the defense response [PDF]. More on the case is available here from the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, and JURIST's Paper Chase has ongoing coverage. AP has more.