Thursday, 4:30 PM
Prosecutors want to talk terrorism with shoe bomber without his lawyers
By Shelley Murphy, Globe Staff
Prosecutors urged a federal judge today to lift an order that prevents them from interviewing convicted shoe bomber Richard Reid without first notifying his court-appointed lawyers in Boston.
Reid, 33, an admitted Al Qaeda member who is serving a life sentence for trying to blow-up a Paris to Miami flight on Dec. 22, 2001, may have information about other terrorist activities and would likely be more forthcoming if he was interviewed without his lawyers present, prosecutors argued today in US District Court in Boston.
"The government considers as a public safety matter that it is extremely important to interview Mr. Reid to find out what he has to say about other terrorist activities,'' said Assistant US Attorney James B. Farmer, urging a judge to vacate an earlier order that requires the government to contact the Federal Defender Office in Boston before contacting Reid.
Lawyers from the Federal Defender Office, however, told the judge that Reid has already said that he doesn't want to speak to the government without his attorneys present.
Federal Defender Miriam Conrad said Reid's constitutional right to have a lawyer should not be "swept aside" because the government believes it is an inconvenience.
US District Judge William G. Young, who sentenced Reid to life in prison in January 2003, said he wasn't sure if he still had jurisdiction over Reid now that his federal case is closed and he's serving his time at the federal prison in Florence, Colorado. He urged the lawyers to ask a federal judge in Colorado to hear any new issues involving Reid.
Young said he would take the request under advisement, but for now, he ordered prosecutors to notify Reid's lawyers and allow them to be present for any interviews with Reid.
Reid, of Britain, was trying to ignite explosives hidden in shoes onboard a American Airlines flight. Passengers and crew subdued him, and the plane was diverted to Boston.
