Federal prosecutors yesterday urged a judge to set the trial of terrorism suspect Zacarias Moussaoui for October, moving quickly after the U.S. Supreme Court declined this week to enter the long-delayed case.
In a motion filed in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, prosecutors said jury selection should begin Oct. 3, with opening statements scheduled for Oct. 31. Defense attorneys, who are expected to respond, declined to comment yesterday.
U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema has yet to rule on the prosecution request. If she agrees, it would set the stage for the first trial in a U.S. courtroom of a suspect accused in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon.
Moussaoui, a French citizen, was charged in December 2001 with conspiring with al Qaeda in the attacks. He has pleaded not guilty but admitted to being an al Qaeda member.
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A58296-2005Mar22.html