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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings, Torture and Big Money |
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April 18th,
2007 - Judge Keeps Magincalda Hearing Open |
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Judge Keeps Magincalda Hearing
Open By Mark Walker North County Times April 18, 2007 11:18 PM PDT Camp Pendleton - A military
judge Wednesday denied an attorney's request to close a hearing for one of
several Marines accused of murder, kidnapping and related offenses in the
slaying of an Iraqi civilian last year. Lt. Col. Eugene Robinson,
the judge presiding over the court-martial of Cpl. Marshall Magincalda, said
public interest outweighed a defense attorney's concern that a public hearing
could jeopardize the 23-year-old Marine's trial, which is scheduled to start
June 11. Magincalda is one of eight
men from Camp Pendleton's 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment charged last
June with the April 26, 2006, slaying of Hashim Ibrahim Awad in the Iraqi
village of Hamdania. Five of the troops reached plea deals with prosecutors
and were sentenced to jail terms ranging from 12 months to eight years. Magincalda's civilian
attorney, Joseph Low, asked the judge Tuesday to close the courtroom to the
public and news media during arguments on several motions. But Robinson said potential
jurors assigned by Lt. Gen. James Mattis to hear the case have already been
told to avoid news media reports of the case. Mattis is the convening
authority over the case as head of Marine Corps forces in the Middle East and
has assigned a panel of officers and enlisted Marines to hear the case. "There's no substantial
probability of denial of the right to a fair trial," Robinson said. The judge also pointed out
that defense attorneys can question prospective jurors to determine how much
they know about the case. Lead prosecutor Lt. Col.
John Baker argued against closing the hearing. He told Robinson that the
Uniform Code of Military Justice holds that court proceedings should be open
unless extraordinary circumstances dictate otherwise. Guylyn Cummins, an attorney
representing the North County Times, The San Diego Union-Tribune, the Los
Angeles Times and The Associated Press, was present when Robinson made his
ruling and was prepared to argue against closing the court. Issues raised this week in
Magincalda's case included the defense's request for a second trip to
Hamdania to interview possible witnesses. Baker said the trip would be fruitless
because Iraqis who once indicated they would talk with attorneys are no
longer willing to do so and won't travel to the U.S. A group of defense attorneys
went to Hamdania in January at government expense and protection but have
said they had limited time to interview witnesses and see sites associated
with the slaying. Baker also pointed out that
U.S. forces are no longer actively patrolling Hamdania and that a large
number of troops would be required to protect attorneys. "What is it they will accomplish?"
Baker asked Robinson about a second trip. "What is it that requires the
government to put Army and Marine lives at risk?" The defense also wants to
suppress some of the statements made by the men who pleaded guilty, and
prosecutors have asked the judge to forbid the defense to question the
co-defendants about the length of sentences they received. Plea deals for
those Marines included agreements to testify against others involved in the
incident. One of Magincalda's
appointed military attorneys, Lt. Col. Philip Simmons, indicated Magincalda
will contend Awad was an insurgent planting a roadside bomb, an assertion
prosecutors have previously rejected. The men who pleaded guilty have said
Awad was taken from his home and killed to send a message to Hamdania
residents that they would not tolerate attacks on Marines. A native of Manteca, Calif.,
Magincalda was on his third assignment in Iraq when the killing occurred and
his attorneys have indicated they may introduce evidence that he was suffering
from post-traumatic stress disorder. Robinson will rule on the
various motions within a few days. A final pretrial hearing is set for early
May. Magincalda will be the first defendant whose case goes to trial. The
remaining co-defendants, squad leader Sgt. Lawrence Hutchins III and Cpl.
Trent Thomas, are slated to head to trial following his case. The Hamdania case is
separate from one involving Marines from another Camp Pendleton regiment
charged in the slayings of 24 Iraqi civilians in Haditha in November 2005. External link: http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/04/19/news/top_stories/1_03_074_18_07.txt |