Moussaoui Hearing Delay Is Sought

A lawyer for Zacarias Moussaoui asked a federal judge Wednesday to delay a hearing scheduled for today at which the accused terrorist has vowed to plead guilty to charges of conspiracy in the Sept. 11 attacks.

Frank W. Dunham Jr. filed the motion asking U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema to halt the pretrial proceedings so that Moussaoui can undergo additional mental competency examinations. Dunham also asked the judge to take more time to consider his motions challenging the Justice Department’s effort to seek the death penalty against Moussaoui.

Dunham, chief public defender for the Eastern District of Virginia, is one of several lawyers serving as standby counsel for Moussaoui, who is acting as his own lawyer after Brinkema ruled that he is competent to mount his own defense. Moussaoui, 34, has refused to talk to Dunham or his other court-appointed lawyers and has informally enlisted the aid of a Muslim lawyer from Texas, Charles Freeman, in his defense.

Moussaoui, a French militant of Moroccan descent, has filed motions accusing the judge and defense lawyers of trying to kill him. Dunham said such motions, and other statements by Moussaoui, indicate that he is seriously mentally ill and not able to represent himself in court, much less plead guilty to charges that could result in his execution.

Brinkema has rejected Dunham’s earlier requests to find Moussaoui mentally incompetent to represent himself. But she has also tried to ensure that Moussaoui understands the legal implications of his actions, since he has no formal legal training.

The judge was expected to rule on Dunham’s most recent court motion late Wednesday or early today, before the afternoon hearing.

Dunham said in an interview that he expects the judge to press forward with the case, even though Freeman has also made a similar request to postpone today’s hearing in an appeal to the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals.

The Justice Department on Wednesday told the 4th Circuit appellate panel that it opposed any effort to halt today’s scheduled proceedings.

“Freeman is a self-proclaimed out-of-court legal advisor who has filed this petition ... in a last-ditch effort to prevent Moussaoui from carrying through with his stated intent to plead guilty on July 25, 2002,” prosecutors wrote.

In its motion, the Justice Department noted that since Moussaoui has insisted on representing himself, Freeman should not be permitted to file court motions acting in his behalf.

“While a guilty plea may be offensive to Freeman, it does not appear to be so to Moussaoui, and Freeman’s sensitivities should have no bearing on this case,” the prosecutors wrote.

The 4th Circuit also had not ruled on the motion to halt proceedings by the close of business Wednesday.

Moussaoui stunned the courtroom last week when he admitted his allegiance to the Al Qaeda terrorist organization and tried to enter a guilty plea on six charges of conspiracy relating to the Sept. 11 attacks. Brinkema refused to accept the plea, ordering Moussaoui to take a week to think about whether he really wanted to plead guilty. Moussaoui indicated he would enter a guilty plea today as well.

“Bet on it,” Moussaoui responded to the judge. “I will.”

Moussaoui is the only person charged in the U.S. as an accomplice to the 19 hijackers who carried out the Sept. 11 attacks. Authorities say he was part of the plot and that he may have been intending to be the 20th hijacker.

“I’m tired of guessing what he’s going to do,” Dunham said. “Here’s a guy who complained that his defense lawyers were trying to kill him, and then he goes and says he wants to plead guilty all by himself.”