Federal judge delays Padilla trial until January News
Federal judge delays Padilla trial until January

[JURIST] US District Judge Marcia Cooke [official profile] on Wednesday agreed to delay the trial of terror suspect Jose Padilla [JURIST news archive] and two co-defendants until January 22 after defense attorneys said they will not be ready to begin the trial in September as scheduled. Padilla's attorneys complained that they have not had enough time to review summaries of 50,000 intercepted phone calls that will be used as evidence, and have struggled to prepare a defense for Padilla due to the extreme security measures at Padilla's federal detention center.

Padilla, initially suspected of planning to set off a "dirty bomb" in the United States, was charged [JURIST report] last year with conspiracy to murder US nationals, conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists and providing material support to terrorists. He was transferred to civilian custody [JURIST report] in January of this year, when he pleaded not guilty [JURIST report] to the terror charges. AP has more.