Attorney General Eric Holder’s announcement Friday that five Guantanamo Bay terror suspects will face trial just blocks from Ground Zero, where almost 3,000 people were killed, has added more fuel to the already heated debate over whether civilian courts can handle terror prosecutions.
The transfer of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the self-proclaimed mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks, and four other detainees to New York for trial presents daunting logistical and security problems for the Southern District, as well as a thicket of novel legal issues for the judge who handles the case.
