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Criminal No. 01-455-A
The trial will held in Courtroom 700, on the 7th floor of the Albert V. Bryan United States District Courthouse, 401 Courthouse Square, Alexandria, Virginia. Alexandria is located eight miles south of Washington, D.C.
A closed-circuit video feed of the proceedings will be screened in Courtroom 701. The two courtrooms collectively seat approximately 160 spectators. The closed-circuit feed shows a wide shot of the well of Courtroom 700 as seen from the spectator gallery; the camera does not move. The judge’s face and the backs of the attorneys and the defendant are visible. The jury box is not shown.
Victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and the families of deceased victims who receive credentials from the court may view the trial on closed-circuit television feeds in federal courthouses in Boston, MA; Central Islip, NY; Newark, NJ; New York, NY; Philadelphia, PA; and in Alexandria's Courtroom 801. The law that created victim viewing locations requires that these courtrooms be for the exclusive use of victims and their families. They will be used beginning with opening statements, which are scheduled for Monday, March 6, 2006 at 2:00 p.m.
In March 2002, the court ordered the U.S. Attorney's Victim Witness Unit to create a list of victims and family members who are eligible to view the closed-circuit feeds. Individuals who believe they may be eligible to view the feeds can contact the Unit at 703-299-3700.
The trial will not be broadcast to the public. In January 2002, the court denied a motion by Court TV and C-SPAN to televise the proceedings.
The trial may last one to three months.
Trial schedule and seating arrangements
Members of the public will need a daily seating credential to attend the trial. These daily credentials will be distributed ONLY for the 90 minutes prior to the start of each day’s proceedings on a first-come, first-served basis at the courtroom doors. No credentials will be issued after the start of the day’s proceedings. More than half of the 160 spectator seats in the two courtrooms will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Opening statements are scheduled to begin on Monday, March 6 at 2:00 p.m. Seating will begin at approximately 12:30 p.m. The 7th floor will be cleared prior to the time seating begins. More information about seating procedures for opening statements is located here.
Beginning on March 7, the trial will be held Monday through Thursday of each week; court may also occasionally be held on Fridays. The jury will listen to testimony from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. each day. There will be a lunch break from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m., and 20-minute recesses at approximately 11:00 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. To the extent possible, any hearings that must be held outside the presence of the jury, such as motions on the admissibility of evidence, will be held before or after the normal trial day. During the trial, the schedule will be updated each evening on the main page of the U.S. v. Moussaoui section of the court’s website.
Daily seating credentials will be issued on a first-come, first-served basis at the courtroom doors on the 7th floor for 90 minutes prior to the start of each trial day. No credentials will be issued after the start of the day’s proceedings.
Spectators who have seating credentials will be allowed to enter and leave the courtrooms while the proceedings are taking place, so long as they do not become a distraction. Spectators are not allowed to eat, drink, chew gum or read newspapers in the courtroom. Talking during the proceedings is prohibited.
On February 2, 2006, the court issued an order prohibiting specators in Courtroom 700 from "wearing or carrying any clothing, buttons or other items that may be clearly visible to the jury and that carry any message or symbol addressing any issues related to this case."
Because of limited space, coats, briefcases, backpacks and large handbags are not permitted in the courtroom. Coat racks are available in the corridor for these items. The court is not responsible for lost or damaged personal belongings.
Under no circumstances should spectators enter the well of the courtroom, which is marked by a short rail in front of the first spectator bench.
Restrooms and water fountains are available on every floor of the courthouse. There are five pay telephones located on the 2nd floor. Smoking is prohibited throughout the courthouse. The courthouse is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.
So that spectators can be present when the verdict is read, the courtrooms will remain open while the jury is deliberating. Daily seating credentials will continue to be distributed ONLY prior to the beginning of the jury’s deliberations on a given day.
The parties determine when they will call a particular witness. They generally do not inform the court of which witnesses they plan to call on a particular day. Their lists of witnesses they may call during the trial are sealed.
Jury selection schedule and seating arrangements
Because of the intense media and public interest in this case, on February 2, 2006, the court issued an order that the jurors will be anonymous. To protect their anonymity, the order also:
Anyone who violates the order may be subject to criminal prosecution. Any journalist who violates the order will also lose their courtroom seating credentials, as will all employees of his or her news organization, for the duration of the trial, according to the order.
Jury selection will occur in three phases:
On Monday, February 6, approximately 500 prospective jurors reported to the courthouse. The attorneys and the defendant were present; the judge briefly described the case to the prospective jurors, who then completed questionnaires about their backgrounds.
Four sessions were held: 10:00 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 2:00 p.m. and 2:30 p.m.
Because the prospective jurors filled the spectator galleries, this day’s proceedings were closed to the public, and were attended exclusively by pool reporters.
On Wednesday, February 15 at 9:30 a.m. and 2:00 p.m., groups of a dozen prospective jurors will return to the courthouse to be questioned individually by the judge in Courtroom 700 about some of their answers on the questionnaire. These sessions, which are known as individual voir dire, will continue for two to three weeks, until 85 prospective jurors have been qualified. Sessions will be held full days Monday through Thursday, and Friday afternoons beginning at 1:00 p.m. The voir dire and trial schedules will be updated daily on the main page of the U.S. v. Moussaoui section of the court’s website.
Individual voir dire is open to the public and the media. No court-issued credentials are required to attend these sessions. In addition to Courtroom 700, a closed-circuit video feed of individual voir dire proceedings will be screened in Courtroom 701. The two courtrooms seat approximately 160 spectators.
On Monday, March 6 at 10:00 a.m., the pool of 85 prospective jurors is scheduled to return to Courtroom 700 for final jury selection. Each party may exercise up to 30 peremptory challenges to strike prospective jurors from the panel; the lawyers do not describe their reasons for the strikes. A jury of 18 individuals, including six alternates, will be selected.
Because prospective jurors will fill the spectator gallery of Courtroom 700, this proceeding will be screened for the public and the media on the closed-circuit video feed in Courtroom 701, which seats 80 spectators. Court-issued credentials are required, and they will be distributed on the 7th floor from 8:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. on a first-come, first-served basis. More information about seating procedures on this day is located here.
Courthouse security, directions and parking
The following streets near the courthouse will be closed to vehicular traffic on days the trial is being held, from approximately 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.:
A map of these closures is located here.
The court's website includes directions to the courthouse and a map of the closest parking garages. All of the garages are outside the zone of closed streets.
Everyone attending the trial will be required to pass through two security checkpoints: at the entrance to the courthouse and at the entrance to the courtrooms. You will be asked to present a photo I.D. issued by a government agency when entering the building. Please allow plenty of time to pass through security.
You will not be allowed to enter the courthouse with cellular telephones, Palm Pilots, Blackberry e-mail devices, pagers, cameras, tape recorders, laptop computers or any other electronic device. The court has no facilities to store these items.
Potential weapons such as firearms, knives, pocket knives, scissors, letter openers, screw drivers, mace and pepper spray are also prohibited.
Visitors can take the Metrorail Yellow Line to the Eisenhower Avenue Metro Station. Or visitors can take the Metrorail Blue Line or Yellow Line to the King Street Metro Station. Additional Metrorail information, as well as Metrobus route and schedule information, can be obtained from the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, 202-637-7000 and www.wmata.com.
Both lines of the Virginia Railway Express stop at the King Street Amtrak Station. Additional VRE information is available at 800-743-3873 and www.vre.org.
Walking directions from these stations to the courthouse are available on this page of the court's website. Click here for a map of the courthouse area.
Restaurants and hotels near the courthouse
A list is available on this page of the court's website.
The court will provide notice on the main page of the U.S. v. Moussaoui section of its website and on the toll-free information line (866-556-8421) that a verdict has been reached approximately one hour before the verdict is returned in open court.
Contact for additional questions
Contact the court's public information officer, Edward A. Adams, at 703-299-2172 or Edward_Adams@vaed.uscourts.gov.
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