U.S. v. Moussaoui
| Decision Date | 04 January 2010 |
| Docket Number | No. 06-4494.,06-4494. |
| Parties | UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Zacarias MOUSSAOUI, a/k/a Shaqil, a/k/a Abu Khalid al Sahrawi, Defendant-Appellant. National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Amicus Supporting, Appellant. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Fourth Circuit |
ARGUED: Barbara Lynn Hartung, Richmond, Virginia, for Appellant. Kevin R. Gingras, United States Department of Justice, Washington, D.C., for Appellee. ON BRIEF: Justin S. Antonipillai, Robert A. McCarter, Rebecca L.D. Gordon, Joseph M. Meadows, Robert Alexander Schwartz, Danielle M. Garten, Whitney A. Moore, Arnold & Porter, LLP, Washington, D.C., for Appellant. Chuck Rosenberg, United States Attorney, David J. Novak, Assistant United States Attorney, David Raskin, Assistant United States Attorney, David B. Goodhand, Assistant United States Attorney, Office of the United
States Attorney, Alexandria, Virginia; United States Department of Justice, Appellate Section, Criminal Division, Washington, DC, for Appellee. Joshua L. Dratel, Law Offices of Joshua L. Dratel, PC, New York, New York; Theresa M. Duncan, Zachary Ives, Freedman Boyd Hollander Goldberg & Ives, PA, Albuquerque, New Mexico, for Amicus Supporting Appellant.
Before TRAXLER, Chief Judge, and GREGORY and SHEDD, Circuit Judges.
Affirmed by published opinion. Chief Judge TRAXLER wrote the opinion, in which Judge GREGORY and Judge SHEDD joined.
Zacarias Moussaoui pled guilty to six criminal conspiracy counts arising from the al Qaeda terrorist organization's plot to use commercial aircraft to commit terrorist attacks in this country, including the attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001.1 In a subsequent sentencing proceeding, the jury declined to impose the death penalty and the district court sentenced Moussaoui to life imprisonment without the possibility of release on all six counts, with the sentence on the first count to be served consecutively to the sentences on the other counts. In this appeal, Moussaoui challenges the validity of his guilty plea and his sentences. He has also filed a motion to remand, based upon the Government's disclosure of classified information during the pendency of this appeal. We affirm Moussaoui's convictions and sentences in their entirety and deny his motion to remand.
On August 16, 2001, Moussaoui, a French citizen, was taken into custody for overstaying his visa after he raised the suspicions of his instructor at the Pan American International Flight Academy in Eagan, Minnesota, where he was receiving pilot training on a jet simulator. Less than a month later, September 11, 2001, nineteen members of al Qaeda hijacked three commercial airlines and crashed them into the World Trade Center towers in New York City and the Pentagon in Virginia. A fourth airplane, apparently destined for the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., crashed in a field in Pennsylvania after its passengers attempted to retake control of the airplane from the al Qaeda hijackers. Collectively, the 9/11 attacks resulted in the deaths of nearly 3,000 people. Moussaoui was still in custody, awaiting deportation, when the attacks occurred.
In December 2001, Moussaoui was indicted for his participation in the conspiracies that led to the 9/11 attacks. The second superseding indictment (the "Indictment"), to which he would later plead guilty, charged him with (1) conspiracy to commit acts of terrorism transcending national boundaries, see 18 U.S.C.A. §§ 2332b(a)(2), (c) (West 2000); (2) conspiracy to commit aircraft piracy, see 49 U.S.C.A. § 46502(a)(1)(A), (a)(2)(B) (West 2007); (3) conspiracy to destroy aircraft, see 18 U.S.C.A. §§ 32(a)(7), 34 (West 2000 & Supp.2009); (4) conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction, see 18 U.S.C.A. § 2332a(a) (West 2000); (5) conspiracy to murder United States employees, see 18 U.S.C.A. §§ 1114, 1117 (West 2000 & Supp.2009); and (6) conspiracy to destroy property of the United States, see 18 U.S.C.A. § 844(f), (i) (West 2000 & Supp. 2009). The Indictment identified 110 overt acts committed by Moussaoui and his al Qaeda co-conspirators, both in the United States and abroad, including the 9/11 attacks.
Upon his indictment, the district court appointed Frank Dunham and Gerald Zerkin, from the Federal Public Defender's Office, and Edward MacMahon, a private practitioner, to represent Moussaoui. The court informed Moussaoui that, although counsel had been appointed for him, he had the right to retain private counsel if he was able to do so. At the arraignment on January 2, 2002, Moussaoui entered "no plea," which the district court interpreted to be a plea of not guilty. J.A. 55.
On January 7, 2002, the Department of Justice imposed Special Administrative Measures (SAMs) on Moussaoui. "SAMs are restrictions placed on a prisoner in the interests of national security." United States v. Abu Ali, 528 F.3d 210, 243-44 (4th Cir.2008); 28 C.F.R. § 501.3(a) (2008) (). The SAMs were imposed to prevent Moussaoui from passing coded messages to or otherwise communicating with other terrorists. The SAMs permitted Moussaoui to have unmonitored attorney/client and consular communications and mail, monitored visits and telephone calls with immediate family, and monitored mail with all others. Approved mail would be forwarded to defense counsel for distribution to Moussaoui and Moussaoui would be notified of any seized mail.
Because the case involved classified national security information, the Government also sought and received a protective order (the "Protective Order") under the Classified Information Procedures Act (CIPA). See 18 U.S.C.A. app. 3, § 3 (West 2000). Under the terms of the Protective Order, access to classified information produced by the Government in discovery was restricted to persons with the necessary security clearances, which included defense counsel. The Protective Order therefore allowed disclosure of classified information to defense counsel, but not to Moussaoui personally unless the Government consented or the district court determined that making it available was necessary.
The relationship between Moussaoui and his appointed attorneys was strained at best, and Moussaoui almost immediately began demanding to proceed pro se, but with the assistance of Muslim counsel. In April 2002, counsel for Moussaoui filed a motion requesting that the SAMs restrictions be lifted to permit Moussaoui to have an unrestricted visit with "[a]n Islamic scholar, referred to . . . as John Doe." J.A. 145. Counsel explained that the scholar would consult with Moussaoui and the attorneys so as to improve the "communication and understanding between them," but that the scholar was unwilling to undergo the vetting process required by the SAMs. J.A. 145. The Government opposed the motion, arguing that the pre-clearance requirement was "one of the cornerstone requirements of the SAM[s] as it [ ] prevents a miscreant sympathizer from meeting with Moussaoui and passing on or receiving deadly information (names of witnesses not yet publicly revealed, etc.), as called for in the al Qaeda terrorism manual." J.A. 187. The district court ultimately denied the motion, concluding that the Government's allegations against Moussaoui were supported by probable cause and that it would be too dangerous to allow an unnamed "John Doe" unfettered access to Moussaoui.
At the hearing held on the motion to lift the SAMs, however, Moussaoui stated that he in fact never had any intention of speaking with John Doe and that his request was simply an excuse to come to court so he could move to proceed pro se. Moussaoui complained that his appointed attorneys had "no understanding of terrorism, [Islam, or] Mujahedin," J.A. 232, and that the Government was "preventing any Muslim help" from reaching him, J.A. 223. Moussaoui told the court that he intended "to hire[ ][his] own chosen Muslim lawyer to assist [him] in matters of procedure and understanding of the . . . law." J.A. 220. Moussaoui explained, however, that he sought Muslim counsel only for assistance with witnesses and material necessary for his defense, and that no attorney—including any Muslim counsel chosen by Moussaoui—would ever represent him. Moussaoui also demanded that the court "not . . . engage in any communication or relation with [his] Muslim lawyer, concerning any aspect of [his] case." J.A. 215.
The district court advised Moussaoui that he had the right to proceed pro se and the right to hire an attorney at his own expense but that Moussaoui could not pick the attorney to be appointed for him. The district court explained that because there was classified information protected by the Protective Order, Moussaoui would not have "totally unrestricted choice even if [he had] the money available to hire an attorney, because the attorneys . . . have to be able to be cleared to receive some of the information in this case." J.A. 246.
After Moussaoui moved to proceed pro se, appointed counsel requested a competency evaluation. They also filed a motion seeking to grant Moussaoui full access to the classified discovery information and seeking relief from the SAMs if the district court granted Moussaoui's request to proceed pro se. In connection with these motions, defense counsel advised that the Government had added several Muslim attorneys to the list of counsel cleared to see Moussaoui at their request, but that "this process will not work if Mr. Moussaoui is granted pro se status such that current counsel no longer act for him." J.A. 444 n.9.
After lengthy proceedings, the district court found that Moussaoui...
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