Nashiri Motions Hearing #12: A Preliminary

The hearing begins again at 9:18. Judge Pohl enters and announces that he has held a meeting in chambers with counsel to discuss letters rogatory, which he will discuss on the record later. The other issue they discussed, he says, relates to his decision yesterday about Nashiri’s attendance in court. The issue, he says, is not one for today, since Nashiri has decided to attend today’s proceedings. But the government has expressed concern that the absence of the accused in a capital case may create unique problems that would not arise in a non-capital case. Under a plain reading of rules, Judge Pohl notes, there is no distinction between the accused’s rights to attend (or not) in a capital versus in a non-capital case, but he nonetheless directed the government to research the issue. If there needs to be a change in policy in capital cases, Judge Pohl says, he may be willing to revisit the issue. If the government thinks a change necessary, the defense will be given notice so as to inform Nashiri and respond. With that out of the way, we’re off.