February 27, 2006

U.S. v. Moussaoui
Final Jury Selection and Opening Statements

Final jury selection and opening statements in U.S. v. Zacarias Moussaoui are scheduled for Monday, March 6. This advisory describes public and media attendance rules at those proceedings and the remainder of the trial.

The schedule for March 6:

8:00 a.m.

The courthouse will open. The 7th floor will be closed prior to the start of spectator seating at 8:30 a.m.

Because the jury in this case is anonymous, photographing or videotaping jurors or prospective jurors in the vicinity of the courthouse in such a way that they could be identified is prohibited by order of the court. Photographing them from the rear, from the waist down, or blurring their faces are all techniques that comply with the order. Courtroom sketches of the facial features or hair of jurors or prospective jurors are also prohibited.

Journalists and members of the public are reminded that the law prohibits speaking to jurors, prospective jurors or their families. Contacting a juror or his or her family, or speaking about the case in the presence of a juror, can result in charges of jury tampering.

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.

8:30 a.m.

Spectator seating will begin for final jury selection. No news organizations have reserved seats for this hearing. Members of the media and the public will be seated on a first-come, first-served basis at the courtroom doors on the 7th floor.

Having a seat for final jury selection does not guarantee having a seat for opening statements. All jury selection spectators must leave the 7th floor at the end of the hearing, and return to receive new daily seating credentials (or present their court-issued reserved seat credentials) for opening statements.

Because the 86 prospective jurors who were qualified to serve on this case during individual juror questioning in February will fill the spectator gallery of Courtroom 700, spectators will view this hearing on a closed-circuit video feed in Courtroom 701. The courtroom seats approximately 80 spectators. The 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.

Two pool reporters -- one representing TV/radio, and a second representing print/online -- will be seated in Courtroom 700. They will brief the media gathered on Courthouse Square after the conclusion of jury selection, but before they file their own reports.

Representatives of two news organizations have volunteered to coordinate pool coverage on behalf of the media. Stuart Powell, (202-263-6421), White House correspondent for Hearst Newspapers, is the contact person for print and online news organizations. David Futrowsky (202-824-6308), Fox News Channel's Washington Bureau director of field operations, is the contact person for TV and radio news organizations. They serve as representatives of the media; they do not work for the court. The Associated Press has been selected by Mr. Powell to serve as the print/online pool reporter. Contact Mr. Futrowsky if you want to serve as the TV/radio pool reporter.

There are no seats reserved for sketch artists at this hearing; if they want to be seated in Courtroom 700, they must be designated as pool reporters.

10:00 a.m.

Spectator seating will end and final jury selection will begin. Each party has 30 peremptory challenges they may use to strike prospective jurors from the panel for any reason, subject only to the constitutional constraint that no prospective juror may be struck solely based on their race or gender. The attorneys do not describe their reasons for striking a prospective juror, and which party struck a particular prospective juror is not disclosed.

From the 86 prospective jurors, 18 will be randomly selected to sit in the jury box. A list of the 18 jurors will be given to the prosecution to exercise their strikes; that list will then be given to the defense to do the same. The list will then be returned to the courtroom deputy clerk, and those jurors who have been struck will be asked to leave the jury box.

Their places will be taken by a like number of randomly-selected prospective jurors. The peremptory challenge process begins again. Attorneys may exercise strikes only against the current round of prospective jurors; they may not "back strike" a juror who has survived an earlier round of today’s peremptory challenge process.

The process ends when both parties are satisfied with the composition of the jury, or when they have both exhausted their 30 strikes, whichever comes first.

The judge will then read the jurors an initial set of instructions. This hearing is expected to end prior to 12:30 p.m.

Of the 18 jurors, 12 will decide the case and six will serve as alternates. Alternates take the place of a juror should one be dismissed during the trial. Alternates are not designated today; they will be selected from the 18 just prior to the start of jury deliberations.

12:30 p.m.

Seating will begin for opening statements. This process will be delayed if final jury selection runs longer than expected. The 7th floor will be cleared and closed prior to the start of seating for opening statements.

In December 2005, the court granted the applications of all 29 news organizations and sketch artists which asked for reserved courtroom seats during the trial. They will be issued credentials by the court on March 3. If they do not attend the trial daily, they may forfeit their reserved seats for the remainder of the proceedings. Attendance will be taken before the start of every trial day. Each of these news organization has one reserved seat; additional employees of these news organizations can receive daily seating credentials, as described below. A list of news organizations with reserved seats for the trial is located here.

Other members of the media and the public will receive daily seating credentials on a first-come, first-served basis at the courtroom doors on the 7th floor. The two courtrooms seat a total of approximately 160 spectators, and more than half the seats are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Seating will also begin at 12:30 p.m. for Courtroom 801, which has been set aside for the exclusive use of victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and the families of deceased victims. These individuals, who are defined by statute, have received credentials from the court to view a closed-circuit video feed of the trial. Additional viewing locations for victims and family members are located in federal courthouses in Boston, MA; Central Islip, NY; Newark, NJ; New York, NY; and Philadelphia, PA.

2:00 p.m.

Spectator seating will end and opening statements will begin. Each party has been allotted 45 minutes for their opening statement. The prosecution delivers its opening statement first. The court will take its 20-minute afternoon recess at approximately 3:30 p.m.

Following opening statements, the prosecution will begin its case-in-chief by calling its first witness. Today’s proceedings are expected to end at approximately 5:30 p.m.

Trial schedule for March 7 and thereafter

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.

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.: