[Wolfstar]

Are there FReepers who are also lawyers, and who might be able to shed some light on the legal ramifications of this mess?

[Ingtar]

He should have been tried by a military tribunal.

[bnelson44]

Life in prison is the alternative.

[elfman2]

Sounds like the virgins will have to wait.

[prairiebreeze]

"An attorney for the TSA ... egregiously breached that order," she told jurors before excusing them until Wednesday.

Paging Sec. Norm Mineta....

FGS....!

[pollyannaish]

Great. Just great.

[Mad_Tom_Rackham]

Sentence him to life in New York City. See how long he lasts.

[SE Mom]

What the hell? ping.

[HuntsvilleTxVeteran]

U.S. District Court Judge.

Nominated by President Bill Clinton.
Entered duty 10/23/93

[Axhandle]

I'm not a lawyer and I don't know anything about legal ramifications, but I am an adult. And part of being an adult is to fulfill your obligations and act truthfully. A lawyer in this case broke the rules - rules that were known and understood before the violation occured. That lawyer acted irresponsibly and deceitfully and deserves our scorn. Yet most people will dismiss that lawyer's flagrant transgression and say that the legal system is broken because a murderer may get life instead of death because of a "technicality". In reality, the legal system is not the culprit - a dishonest lawyer is.

[peyton randolph]

Leonie Brinkema is a Clinton appointee.

[Diddle E. Squat]

U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema

Appointed by Bill Clinton in 1993, when he had a Dem congress and would have pushed his most liberal appointees.

[msnimje]

The Judge will NOT dismiss the case, this is the penalty phase.

The worst thing that will happen is he will be the "bride" of a fellow prisoner until he is 72 rather than receiving 72 virgins for being killed be the infidel.

[Maine For Bush]

Who is this boneheaded attorney? It would seem to me that witness coaching would be the first thing they teach you NOT to do in law school.

[jschurchin]

You would think the Justice Department would assign this case to a competent attorney.

[Rutles4Ever]

Woops. Now that's what I call being part of the problem, and not the solution.

[BIGZ]

Government officials identified the attorney as Carla Martin.

Does anyone have a picture of this dudess, Carla?

One wonders if this was not done on purpose to screw up the Death Penalty portion of this trial. No one can be this stupid, except Bill Clinton.

[b4its2late]

He should've been hung September 12, 2001.

[txroadkill]

This is a pretty serious screw up. I'm not a lawyer, but have been in law enforcement for over 20 years and have testified many, many trials, criminal, civil, and Family. Witness rules are pretty simple, and this lawyer has screwed the American People.

[Joe Boucher]

Meanwhile the former supreme court justice 'conner rails against criticism of f-ing judges.
F-ing unAmerican judges. Why not just turn the whole country over to the lunatics? Oh yeah we have it's called the congress.
A few judges need to be drug out into the street and beaten.

[Spok]

"In the alternative, he said, at least she should excuse the government's FAA witnesses from the case."

The judge could bar the offending lawyer and the tainted witnesses from the trial. Right now, dismissal of the death penalty as a potential sentence is entirely a pipe dream of the defense lawyer, who is ethically obligated to maximize the benefit to his client. However, judges have pretty broad discretion in sanctioning this kind of conduct.