Dec. 15, 2005
St. Petersburg Times
By Jennifer Liberto and Rebecca Catalanello
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TAMPA – Only two said they had never heard of Sami Al-Arian. Another two said they had never known a Muslim, a Palestinian or an Arab. One wrote that he had a Muslim friend.

All 12 said they believed they could be fair and impartial.

On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge James Moody Jr. released 7-month-old questionnaires that had been filled out by the 12 jurors entrusted to decide the fate of Al-Arian and three co-defendants. The records identify their ages, origins, races and some beliefs, while keeping their names secret.

The forms provide a glimpse of the mysterious dozen who put their lives on hold for six months for the sake of justice.

They hail from Pinellas, Hillsborough, Pasco, Sarasota and Polk counties and range in age from 29 to 71. Five either had served in the military or had a relative who served. Two are immigrants who have become naturalized citizens.

Three are retired. One is a baker; one, a truck driver. There is a television diary editor, an assistant deli manager, a meat cutter, a clerical worker and a grants manager. Two are in sales.

A 51-year-old Hillsborough County juror said her sister had worked with the sister-in-law of Sami Al-Arian.

On Dec. 6, these jurors found Al-Arian, a former University of South Florida professor, not guilty on eight counts of an indictment accusing him of conspiring to support terrorist acts of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist organization. They could not reach a verdict on nine more counts. Two co-defendants were completely acquitted, and a third was found not guilty on 25 of 33 counts.

Asked whether they had been affected by a terrorist act, five said yes. Most cited the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

“I believe all Americans were affected on Sept. 11 because our homeland was attacked – just like Pearl Harbor,” wrote a 65-year-old female juror from Sarasota County.

Half a dozen jurors said they remembered Al-Arian coming up as a source of controversy in the 2004 Senate race between Mel Martinez and Betty Castor, a former USF president who was criticized for not firing Al-Arian. Four dismissed it as political posturing.

A 25-year-old baker from Pasco County was studying at USF when the news broke of Al-Arian’s possible ties to terrorist activities. “I was surprised that one of our professors had involvement with possible terrorists,” he wrote.

Four of the jurors reported that they read newspapers daily. Six said they read them occasionally. Two left the question blank.

Two jurors expressed outright dislike for the practice of wiretapping, which provided much of the foundation for the charges. Seven were more cautious, couching their feelings for the practice on the condition that such evidence is obtained legally. Two said they favored it, while one said he didn’t have any feelings about it.

A 37-year-old Polk County woman, a naturalized citizen from Vietnam, said, “It may help stop or catch criminal activities. It also violates a person’s right to privacy.”