Word: brinkema
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While experienced litigators know how to prep witnesses without crafting their testimony, Martin crossed a line, informing her experts what she would tell the jury and feeding them transcripts from the trial in violation of an explicit order from U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema. It was no small mistake. When Brinkema found out, she angrily barred all aviation-security witnesses from testifying--experts prosecutors were counting on to make their case that had Moussaoui shared what he knew, officials could have prevented 9/11, and since he didn't, he should be executed...
...discovered when one of them became so put off by her persistent e-mails that she showed them to prosecutors, who then informed the judge of Martin's misconduct. "In all my years on the bench, I've never seen a more egregious violation of the rule about witnesses," Brinkema said. She warned Martin that she may face criminal charges. Martin, who has been placed on paid administrative leave by the TSA, wouldn't comment. Her mother, Jean Martin Lay, told TIME that her daughter is "really devastated" by the accusations. Martin's lawyer, Roscoe Howard, claims that prosecutors have...
...9/11 attacks, has pleaded guilty to conspiring with al-Qaeda to hijack planes, but denies direct involvement in the 9/11 plot, claiming that he was preparing for a future attack instead. If he is not executed, he faces life imprisonment. Prosecutors were counting on the witnesses barred by Brinkema to explain to jurors how airport security could have been increased had Moussaoui come clean with FBI agents who interrogated him before 9/11...
...trouble Martin allegedly caused federal prosecutors - who have told the court they were unaware of her actions and will try next week to get Judge Leonie Brinkema to reverse her decision barring the seven witnesses' testimony - critics claim Martin is only one symptom of much deeper problems in the way the Justice Department has handled the high-profile terror case...
...hasn?t helped matters that prosecutors have given the judge headaches over other missteps. Two years ago, for example, Brinkema took the death penalty off the table after government lawyers disobeyed her order that Moussaoui's legal team be allowed to interview captured al-Qaeda leaders that they claimed might clear their client, a ruling a higher court eventually overturned. And as recently as last week, Brinkema admonished prosecutor David Novak for posing an inappropriate question to an FBI agent who was testifying during the jury trial. "I don't think in the annals of criminal law there has ever...