The Bobster
Senior News Editor since 2004
http://nypost.com/2015/11/25/prosec...air-force-vet-accused-of-trying-to-join-isis/
Prosecutors fear ISIS attacks on jurors in Air Force vet’s trial
By Selim Algar
November 25, 2015 | 7:17pm
Tairod Pugh Photo: Facebook
Photo: Facebook
Lawyers for an Air Force vet charged with trying to join ISIS are fighting a push by prosecutors for an anonymous jury, claiming that the measure would be unfairly prejudicial.
Arguing that ISIS sympathizers could target jurors in Tairod Pugh’s Brooklyn federal court proceeding, the feds have asked libtard Judge Nicholas Garaufis to keep their identities confidential.
“The possibility that a terrorist organization, the defendant, his associates, or their sympathizers, will target members of the jury in this case is a valid concern for potential members of the jury pool…,” a government submission states.
Prosecutors added that jurors need to be shielded from the press as much as from threats, papers state.
“Juror anonymity is an effective remedial measure to prevent possible prejudice and inappropriate contact by the press,” officials wrote.
Pugh was charged in March with attempting to travel to Syria to offer ISIS his aircraft repair skills. Prosecutors said he blabbed online about his support for the group and desire to wage jihad.
The mechanic, who once lived in Neptune, NJ, served in the U.S. Air Force from 1986 to 1990.
After being laid off from a mechanic job in Kuwait, the feds said Pugh traveled to Turkey and hoped to cross into Syria before his arrest.
“There is not a scintilla of evidence in the discovery that even remotely suggests that Pugh is dangerous or has committed violence in any way,” wrote his attorney, Eric Creizman, in objecting to an anonymous jury.
“Even in a trial involving terrorism, there must be something more than the mere invocation of ISIS or al-Qaeda to justify encroaching on the defendant’s right to a fair trial and an impartial trier of fact,” he wrote. “In Pugh’s case, there is nothing more.”
Anonymous juries are normally objected to by defense attorneys and eventually approved by jurists.
Garaufis will rule on the matter at a later date.
Prosecutors fear ISIS attacks on jurors in Air Force vet’s trial
By Selim Algar
November 25, 2015 | 7:17pm
Tairod Pugh Photo: Facebook
Photo: Facebook
Lawyers for an Air Force vet charged with trying to join ISIS are fighting a push by prosecutors for an anonymous jury, claiming that the measure would be unfairly prejudicial.
Arguing that ISIS sympathizers could target jurors in Tairod Pugh’s Brooklyn federal court proceeding, the feds have asked libtard Judge Nicholas Garaufis to keep their identities confidential.
“The possibility that a terrorist organization, the defendant, his associates, or their sympathizers, will target members of the jury in this case is a valid concern for potential members of the jury pool…,” a government submission states.
Prosecutors added that jurors need to be shielded from the press as much as from threats, papers state.
“Juror anonymity is an effective remedial measure to prevent possible prejudice and inappropriate contact by the press,” officials wrote.
Pugh was charged in March with attempting to travel to Syria to offer ISIS his aircraft repair skills. Prosecutors said he blabbed online about his support for the group and desire to wage jihad.
The mechanic, who once lived in Neptune, NJ, served in the U.S. Air Force from 1986 to 1990.
After being laid off from a mechanic job in Kuwait, the feds said Pugh traveled to Turkey and hoped to cross into Syria before his arrest.
“There is not a scintilla of evidence in the discovery that even remotely suggests that Pugh is dangerous or has committed violence in any way,” wrote his attorney, Eric Creizman, in objecting to an anonymous jury.
“Even in a trial involving terrorism, there must be something more than the mere invocation of ISIS or al-Qaeda to justify encroaching on the defendant’s right to a fair trial and an impartial trier of fact,” he wrote. “In Pugh’s case, there is nothing more.”
Anonymous juries are normally objected to by defense attorneys and eventually approved by jurists.
Garaufis will rule on the matter at a later date.