Saturday, December 26, 2009
Where can I find the best hamburger in New York City? - Made with love
More fresh news on the touchy subject of NYC here - Can a terror trial in NYC be fair?
NYCNEW YORK -- Since the government's announcement that Khalid Shaikh Mohammed would be tried with others in Manhattan in connection with the 9/11 attacks, some lawyers and others have expressed skepticism that such a trial will ever be held in the city. They are confident defense lawyers will ask the trial be moved, and believe a judge might even consent.
But a review of previous terrorism trials and interviews with lawyers and legal experts shows that such an outcome is hardly guaranteed.
Federal juries in Manhattan, for instance, have not imposed the death penalty against any of the six defendants who could have received it since the federal death penalty was reinstated some two decades ago.
As well, judges have been reluctant to order cases moved, ruling that careful pretrial questioning can weed out jurors who are not impartial. In a case in 2002, a lawyer in U.S. District Court in Manhattan sought a change of venue for a suspected aide to Osama bin Laden who had been charged with stabbing a jail guard. The lawyer, Richard B. Lind, said he was convinced his client could not get a fair trial in Manhattan so soon after 9/11.
Lind had surveys conducted in New York and five other jurisdictions in January 2002. The results showed that 58 percent of New Yorkers had been "personally affected" by the attacks, more than double the average of those in the other areas.
But the judge, Deborah A. Batts, rejected the request, citing other survey evidence showing that levels of bias were not much different elsewhere.
"While New York residents are particularly hard hit because of the destruction of the World Trade Center and considerable loss of loved ones," the judge wrote, "the tidal wave is of national, not just local, proportions."
Defense lawyers in a prominent terror trial in Manhattan nearly 15 years ago reached a similar conclusion when they ordered research on whether their clients would fare better in a city other than New York.
Back then, Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman and a group of other men faced a 1995 federal trial on charges of plotting to blow up the United Nations, the George Washington Bridge, the Hudson River tunnels and other landmarks. The lawyers believed their clients could not get a fair trial in the city they were accused of targeting. But their surveys of potential jurors indicated that New York was not clearly worse than other places for the trial.
Much is unknown about the forthcoming cases against Mohammed and four others. No public indictment has been released; no judge has been picked. It is not clear Mohammed will even mount a defense. And he may want his trial to be a soapbox of sorts, blocks from where the World Trade Center once stood.
If he does seek to defend himself, some lawyers say a motion for change of venue would almost be mandatory because of 9/11's impact on the city.
Yet again - Can Khalid Shaikh Mohammed Get A Fair Trial In NYC?
NYCIt doesn't seem like political pressure or security concerns will stop the trials of five suspected terrorists from taking place in New York — but the city's prejudiced residents might. The lawyers representing Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and the four other suspected 9/11 plotters might ask a judge to relocate the trial, according to the Times.
In past terrorism trials, attorneys have requested changes in location based on the perceived bias of jurors. Considering that in one study, 58 percent of New Yorkers said they were "personally affected" by the terrorist attacks — more than double the number at other locations — the defense might feel like their best strategy is to move the trial elsewhere. That approach didn't work in the case of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh, who was sentenced to death by a jury in Denver after his trial was moved. But it worked for his accomplice, Terry Nichols, who escaped death sentences in Denver and in a second trial in McAlester, Oklahoma.
That said, if the attorneys representing Mohammed think their "greatest legal obligation is not to win acquittal but to save his life," they might decide "there is no better place to try to do that than in a Manhattan federal courtroom." That's because local juries in federal court cases haven't imposed the death penalty against any of the six suspects who could have faced it since the punishment was reinstated more than 20 years ago. “Not all American jury pools have the diversity and open-mindedness that New Yorkers are famous for,” said Daniel C. Richman, a Columbia law professor and former federal prosecutor in Manhattan. “I suspect people elsewhere would probably be a whole lot quicker to close their ears to anything the defendants had to say.”
What is the best American/traditional restaurant in New York City?
NBA: Miami 93, New York 87 get ready to feel alarmed
New YorkNEW YORK, Dec. 25 (UPI) -- Dwyane Wade's 30 points and nine rebounds Friday led the Miami Heat to a 93-87 win over the New York Knicks.
The NBA matinee was New York's first Christmas Day game at Madison Square Garden in six years.
The Knicks led 23-21 after the first period, but trailed 72-58 with 8:45 remaining in the fourth and could not grab the lead again in the late stages.
Wade filled his stats sheet with five assists, four steals and four personal turnovers.
Michael Beasley scored 19 points, Udonis Haslem 12 with six rebounds, while Mario Chalmers and Jermaine O'Neal added 11 points apiece for the Heat, who have beaten New York five straight times.
Danilo Gallinari led New York with 26 points and eight rebounds.
David Lee scored 19 with 16 rebounds.
Wilson Chandler scored 15, while Al Harrington added 12 with seven rebounds for the Knicks, who sank only 5-of-28 3-point attempts.