Full Description
This is the inside story of an epic courtroom showdown between terrorism and the American legal system. On a snowy day in February 1993, a massive car bomb nearly toppled the World Trade Center. Four Middle Eastern men were quickly arrested and charged with the crime. At the time, Robert E. Precht was a staff attorney for the Legal Aid Society Federal Defender Division in Manhattan, handling routine cases as a public defender. He was surprised to be appointed defence attorney to the chief suspect, Mohammad Salameh, and challenged as never before by the media circus that this major terrorism trial would prove to be. The events and personalities of the trial alone would make for gripping reading, but equally compelling are Precht's observations on the forces arrayed against fair trials for accused terrorists.
Contents
My appointment; The right to a fair trial; We try cases in the courtroom; Discovery; Strategy; Can you be fair and impartial?; Opening statements; Relevance and prejudice; How are you going to feel?; Cross-examination; You guys aren't loyal; A person like this one; My father; You don't see the case for what it is; A Christmas visit; I'm fairly certain he did it; It was misleading; Mosque; Do not cry; Summations; I could not believe my ears; Verdict.
