"Lawyers for Liberty City 7 having tough time"

That's the headline in today's Miami Herald article about the Liberty City 7 case. Not exactly the article you want if you are sitting at the defense table....

A couple of exchanges from the article between Ana Jhones (the lawyer for the lead defendant) and the informant:

"It's all about the money, isn't it?" Jhones asked aggressively.

"No, ma'am," Assad answered calmly. "There is a list, too."

"If I remember, I never promised him anything," he continued. "I only promised I would give the list to my big brother."

The FBI informant then lost touch with Batiste for one month.

Batiste and his followers in the local branch of the Moorish Science Temple -- a religion that combines Muslim, Christian and Jewish faiths -- began to suspect that Assad was working undercover for law enforcement. They also had their doubts about the other FBI informant, al-Saidi.

In late January 2006, a few of Batiste's men met the two informants at the group's warehouse in Liberty City, changed their clothes and drove them to Islamorada.

There, inside a tent, Assad and al-Saidi met with Batiste in a tense confrontation. Assad salvaged the FBI's undercover probe when he blurted out to Batiste that he was a representative of al Qaeda, winning his trust again. Assad was allowed to keep his cellphone, which recorded the conversation.

"You're doing all the talking," Jhones told Assad on the witness stand.

The lawyer reiterated that Batiste said his group was "suffering" because it lacked money, suggesting he was only trying to con the informant for big bucks.

"He doesn't say he needs the money because he hates the United States," Jhones said on cross-examination.

But Assad fired back: "He says he needs the money to destroy the United States."

The informant only gave Batiste and his followers boots, supplied by the FBI. Assad later offered to provide them with a second warehouse in Miami, where they could plan their alleged terror mission.

Monday Morning Blogging

It's Monday morning -- messages to return; weekend mail to go through; getting to stuff we couldn't get to Friday afternoon...

But the Hurricanes beat FSU. That makes it all feel a little bit better, doesn't it?

Unfortunately, the Fins are the worst they have been in my lifetime. It's tough to watch. Rumpole has a funny post about them over at his blog.

As for SDFLA news, the Liberty City 7 trial is still going... Joe Cool arraignments should occur this week.

And it looks like we have a new Justice Watch columnist -- Alana Roberts. Welcome. She writes today about Jack Thompson, which we have covered in detail in prior posts.

Finally, a couple of you have asked about how to join the local chapter of the Federal Bar Association. Go to this site, pay by credit card, and make sue you pick the South Florida Chapter. You'll want to join soon -- our first speakers in November are Judges Barkett and Marcus. Should be fun.

Federal Bar Association dinner

The local chapter of the federal bar association had its installation dinner last night at the Biltmore Hotel. It was a really nice event -- the judges were all there, including Chief Judge Moreno and former Chief Judge Davis.

Our first luncheon will be in mid-November. Judges Barkett and Marcus will be speaking. More info to follow...

Three Liberty City 7 jurors dismissed

From the Sun-Sentiel:

U.S. District Judge Joan Lenard ruled after spending hours questioning jurors about a pamphlet on terrorism found in the jury room Monday. Miami police officers handed out the pamphlets last week at Metrorail stations, and the jurors who were dismissed said they had read or skimmed it.

One of the dismissed jurors said he considered it an "interesting coincidence" that he was handed a pamphlet about terrorism at the Government Center Metrorail Station as he made his way to court for a terrorism trial. The man said he brought the flier into the jury room after receiving it.

The pamphlet's cover features a police shield and the word "terrorism" in bold, capital letters. A police representative said the distribution, part of a program to alert the public to terrorist threats, was unrelated to the trial.

All but two of the 12 jurors and six alternates said they had seen a copy in the jury room and noticed it pertained to terrorism. To defense lawyers, that alone was enough to warrant a mistrial.

"To have that in the jury room in this type of trial, I think it's outrageous," said Roderick Vereen, who represents Stanley Phanor, 32.

Other defense lawyers weren't so happy with the jurors being dismissed:

Lawyers for every defendant but Batiste requested a mistrial based on the pamphlet, which includes a watch list of seven "signs of terrorism" and descriptions of deadly materials that could be used by terrorists.

Lenard denied the mistrial motions. However, she excused the three members of the jury panel who said they had read the brochure, explaining she was acting in "an abundance of caution."

Ana Jhones, who represents Batiste, protested Lenard's decision, saying her client had never complained about the pamphlet. "He is now faced with the consequences that he is not going to have the jury he has selected," she said.

Albert Levin, Abraham's attorney, and Joel DeFabio, Lemorin's attorney, also opposed dismissing the jurors.

Ah, the joys of trial. Crazy things always happen, don't they?

You go Judge Milian

Okay, so this isn't federal court, but it's a fun clip, isn't it?