The
White House on
Thursday night told
the Justice
Department to
consider another
option after a
chorus of critics
said a trial would
cost a mint and make
lower Manhattan a
terror target -
again.
But there are also
problems with the
alternative sites
being mentioned: a
federal prison
upstate, West Point,
an airbase at
Newburgh and
Governors Island.
One key issue is
legal.
Lawyer Robert
Gottlieb, who
represents accused
terrorist Adis
Medunjanin in
Brooklyn, says
holding a civilian
trial in a prison, a
military school, an
isolated air base or
an island could
intimidate jurors
and prejudice
defendants.
"If you bus jurors
in bullet-proof
tanks to a secure
bunker, I think it's
reasonable to
believe that they
might be a little
fearful of telling
the government that
it hasn't proven its
case beyond a
reasonable doubt,"
he said.
While the Justice
Department favors
the lower Manhattan
courthouse,
officials could move
the trial to other
federal
jurisdictions that
have experience with
high-security, high
profile events,
including
Alexandria, Va.,
where Zacarias
Moussaoui went on
trial.
After saying he was
fine with a lower
Manhattan trial,
Mayor Bloomberg
changed his stance,
joining skittish
business leaders and
downtown residents
who want Mohammed
far away from the
neighborhood.
That includes Julie
Menin, head of
Community Board 1,
who sent a letter to
Attorney General
Eric Holder this
week suggesting
these alternatives:
- The federal prison
in Otisville, N.Y.:
Double-fencing,
armed perimeter
control and motion
detectors could hold
Mohammed, but
holding a trial
there would be
another matter.
"They do not have a
courtroom," Bureau
of Prisons spokesman
Ed Ross said.
"They've never had a
trial there."
- West Point
Military Academy:
Heavily guarded and
nestled amid 16,000
acres, the campus
has a tiny 30-person
courtroom for
dispensing justice
to faculty and
cadets.
West Point spokesman
Frank DeMaro
declined to reveal
where defendants
were housed during
trials.
- Stewart Air
National Guard Base
in Newburgh is a
secluded base for
the 105th Airlift
Wing - with no
courtroom in sight.
"There's
administration
buildings, training
facilities, chow
halls," said Eric
Durr, spokesman for
the New York State
Division of Military
and Naval Affairs.
"There's nothing
specifically built
to hold a trial in."
- Governors Island
was dismissed by
Bloomberg as a
possible terror
trial venue, but
Menin believes the
island fits the
bill.
Federal officials
and politicians said
this week the
National Park
Service buildings on
the island lack the
needed
infrastructure.
"We're going to keep
throwing ideas out
there until there's
a solution," Menin
said.
tmoore@nydailynews.com;
