WP,pg1: Embattled Lawyer Had Limited Role in (Moussaoui) Trial

[DeepModem Mom]

Embattled Lawyer Had Limited Role in 9/11 Trial
By Jerry Markon and Carol Morello
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, March 16, 2006; Page A01


The government lawyer who has thrown the death penalty trial of Sept. 11, 2001, conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui into turmoil by improperly contacting witnesses was supposed to be playing a limited role and was never to be involved with legal strategy or litigating the case.

Carla J. Martin, a former flight attendant whose legal career has been devoted to defending aviation security secrets, was a legal go-between -- a conduit, officials said.

The Transportation Security Administration lawyer located files and arranged witness interviews -- she "made no substantive decisions," prosecutors said, likening her to "outside counsel," and not a member of the decision-making team.

But by taking it upon herself to strategize with potential witnesses, she has violated basic tenets of criminal procedure, prosecutors and outside lawyers say. The veteran government lawyer is accused of what a judge called "egregious errors" -- sending e-mails to witnesses and improperly sharing testimony with them in violation of a court order.

"In this sea of Government attorneys and agents who have assiduously played by the rules, Ms. Martin stands as the lone miscreant," prosecutors wrote yesterday in court papers. "Her aberrant and apparently criminal behavior should not be the basis for undoing the good work of so many."...


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/15/AR2006031502656.html