Mar. 2, 2005
St. Petersburg Times
Lawyers for the former USF professor may try to move his terrorism trial away from Tampa.
By Curtis Krueger

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TAMPA – Attorneys for former University of South Florida professor Sami Al-Arian probably will try to move his upcoming terrorism trial away from Tampa, partly because of what they say is “virulent racism” displayed by some potential jurors.

In the meantime, they would like to simply delay the trial, saying the hundreds of thousands of pages of documents in the case make it “simply impossible to adequately review and analyze all of this evidence in time for the trial date of April 4.”

…Both sides in the case are scheduled to appear Thursday before U.S. District Judge James Moody, in part to discuss questionnaires that were sent to about 500 prospective jurors.

A motion filed by Al-Arian attorney William B. Moffitt this week says the defense received 322 completed questionnaires, which total more than 7,500 pages, and reviewed a portion of them. The motion says “a disturbing pattern has emerged which most likely will require the defense to move for a change of venue.”

Specifically, the motion said the questionnaires showed that nearly all the potential jurors who completed them “believed Dr. Al-Arian was guilty and they could not set aside their feelings in order to consider the evidence fairly.”

The filing said many respondents displayed “an attitude of virulent racism, commenting on the color and hygiene of “Arabs.’ ”

“One potential juror wanted to give sodium pentothal to Dr. Al-Arian to “get the whole truth out,’ ” the filing said.

Defense attorneys sometimes seek a change of venue when a case has received widespread publicity that could give jurors preconceived notions about defendants’ guilt or innocence.

Steve Cole, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, would not comment on how the office would respond to any request for a change of venue. Moffitt could not be reached. Al-Arian’s attorneys say they need an extra three months to prepare for the trial, now set to begin in April and last six months. The amount of documents, audio casettes, DVDs and other items introduced as evidence has grown so mountainous that the index alone now runs nearly 900 pages, according to the new motion.

The motion says the defense on Feb. 18 received 369 draft translations of faxes, Web sites and seized documents that were still to be revised. It received another 112 translated documents on Jan. 18, as well as hundreds of other records at other times.