Man convicted of bridge plot seeks evidence of NSA spying

[sabra]

http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?ID=267312&Category=13

Man convicted of bridge plot seeks evidence of NSA spying

Friday, February 3, 2006 COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A lawyer for an Ohio trucker convicted of plotting to destroy the Brooklyn Bridge has prepared a motion asking a federal judge to throw out the case on the grounds that the government illegally spied on him.

The motion on behalf of Iyman Faris, 36, is among the first challenges to seek evidence of electronic eavesdropping by the National Security Agency, a practice that began after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Attorney David Smith, who is handling Faris’ appeal, said he plans to file the motion Friday in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Va. It will argue that investigators improperly obtained evidence against Faris, and that his defense lawyer at trial was ineffective.

Faris pleaded guilty in 2003 to conspiracy and aiding and abetting terrorism, and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Prosecutors cited incriminating statements he made under questioning by federal agents.

[tecelote]

1. So, this NSA spying is really helping...

the terrorists get off the hook?!

[mrcheerful]

2. Now your seeing how GW is going to free OBL if he is ever found caught and

tried. We spied on OBL without warrants so therefore he goes free, as well as any other terrorist that they catch in the USA. Remember warrantless searches are inadmissible in a court of law. Thats what the real danger is about with GW's spying programs.

[tecelote]

4. You're right.

Without terrorists GW is nothing.

OBL puts a face on it. 'Makes it easier for us to hate.

[underpants]

3. WIth blowtorches,......right?

That's the story right? They were going to jump out of vans and start takikng down a bridge with blowtorches....and hoping no one noticed I guess.

:eyes:

[mrcheerful]

5. Hey that actually happened in saginaw michigan

one of the local parks had a 20 ton aluminum foot bridge and some people went to the park late at night and took the bridge down with torches. As far as I know they never found the perps, local police say they think it was scraped out, but they don't know where. That was in 2003.

[Kagemusha]

7. Chertoff bought it. Or made a show of buying it.

But... then again... that's Chertoff.

[Kagemusha]

6. Either the lawyer's an idiot or the journalist is sloppy but...

The idea is that if there was "evidence laundering", no-warrant evidence that was presented as evidence obtained by legal means, a court of law may have to say, the defendant did not have a fair trial.

Therefore the real grounds is violation of due process.

[ROakes1019]

8. grounds

I believe the charge would follow "fruit of the poisoned tree" law. Any evidence obtained illegally must be thrown out. In the law, nothing illegal is ever allowed to prevail.

[Kagemusha]

9. A lot of times convictions stand despite evidence thrown out.

The point being that if the defendant can't even have the right to challenge evidence on the basis it was illegally gathered, the trial was not fair. In other words, this is grounds for a new trial with new hearings. ...Sure, you can just go straight for having the evidence thrown out on its own but, if that's what this lawyer's trying, he's begging for trouble. An unsympathetic conservative jurist could easily say, ok, some of this evidence shouldn't have been in, but since other evidence that was gathered as a result of illegally obtained knowledge was properly obtained with a warrant, your client remains in prison. That's where it gets rough. A lawyer should not want to dance on the head of a pin rather than smash the entire trial verdict with a hammer crying lack of due process.

Um, but that's not a professional opinion. That's why I like reading blogs like FDL - I may have opinions about how something should be but, they are not the expert opinion of a bar-certified lawyer.

I can say that the news report makes the lawyer sound like a moron, and I did. I just don't know whose fault that is: the lawyer or the journalist.