MIAMI AP – A juror in the Jose Padilla terrorism support trial saw one of the co-defendants in shackles outside the courtroom, causing a defense attorney to ask a federal judge Thursday to declare a mistrial because his client’s right to a fair trial was jeopardized.
U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke did not immediately rule but cited several previous federal cases in which brief and inadvertent sightings of chained defendants by jurors had not resulted in mistrials. Federal prosecutors also opposed a mistrial in a case that has already seen some seven weeks of testimony.
