Opinion
Case No. 10-20005
09-09-2011
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff, v. UMAR FAROUK ABDULMUTALLAB, Defendant.
Honorable Nancy G. Edmunds
TRIAL CONDUCT ORDER NO. 1
This matter is ready for trial, and the Court will soon begin the process of selecting a jury. With that in mind, the Court is providing an overview of the jury selection and trial proceedings, and its specific orders governing contact with prospective jurors and selected jurors, the media and public conduct, courtroom procedures and decorum.
A. Overview - Jury Selection Proceedings
Preliminary court proceedings dealing with jury selection begin Wednesday, September 14, 2011, when approximately 250 jurors will report to the Theodore Levin United States Courthouse in Detroit, Michigan, to fill out the Jury Questionnaire prepared for this case. There will be two identical brief court sessions starting, respectively, at approximately 9:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. in Room 115, where the Court will preliminarily instruct the prospective jurors about the case and explain the Jury Questionnaire. Attorneys for the government, defendant, and his standby counsel, will be in Courtroom 858 watching and listening to the proceedings in Room 115 via 2-way closed circuit television (CCTV); prospective jurors will also be able to see the defendant, counsel, and others in the Courtroom.
After each session, Room 115 will be sealed to allow the prospective jurors to complete the Jury Questionnaire.
A blank copy of the Jury Questionnaire will be available on the Court's web site, www.mied.uscourts.gov , after the completion of the afternoon session.
Although these proceedings are open to the public, because the number of jurors for each session exceeds the seating capacity of Room 115, no public seating will be available in that room. Limited seating for credentialed media and the public will be available in Courtroom 858. Overflow seating will be available in another Courtroom in the Courthouse to all who pass through the security checks. Check the Court's web site (listed above) for the correct room number. The Court's media room, located on the second floor of the Courthouse, Room 214, will be available for properly credentialed media. A live audio and video feed of all proceedings will be provided in both the overflow and media rooms. A Court Security Officer will be present in the overflow courtroom and the media room at all times when the Court is in session to ensure compliance with this Court's orders.
After all of the prospective jurors have filled out the Jury Questionnaire, the next court proceeding dealing with jury selection will begin on Tuesday, October 4, 2011, at 9:00 a.m. in Courtroom 858, which will be the Courtroom in which the trial will be conducted. Notified prospective jurors will report in small groups for individual questioning (voir dire). After a juror has been questioned, the parties will raise any challenges to that juror's qualifications. It is anticipated that opening statements will begin on Tuesday, October 11, 2011 at 9:00 a.m. Check the Court's website (provided above) for updates.
B. Overview - Trial Proceedings
During trial, starting with opening statements on Tuesday, October 11, 2011, the first bench behind the government's table is reserved for the government and sketch artists. The first bench behind defendant's table is reserved for the staff of defendant's standby counsel. The second bench behind defendant's table is reserved for the defendant's family. In addition, there is reserved seating for credentialed media. (All media representatives are to check in each day at 7:30 a.m. with the Court's Media Information Officer, Rod Hansen, Room 840, for the appropriate media credentials. This information is also subject to change, so please check the Court's website daily for updates.) The limited remaining seating in Courtroom 858 will be unreserved and available to the public on a first come basis. The public and the media must access the 8th Floor via the Fort Street elevators and must pass through security before entering Courtroom 858.
Overflow seating will be available in another Courtroom in the Courthouse to all who pass through the security checks. Check the Court's web site (listed above) for the correct room number. The Court's media room, located on the second floor of the Courthouse, Room 214, will be available for properly credentialed media. A live audio and video feed of all proceedings will be provided in both the overflow and media rooms. Cameras for the video feed will be fixed on the witnesses, counsel, and the Court, and will not focus on the jury. A Court Security Officer will be present in the overflow courtroom and the media room at all times when the Court is in session to ensure compliance with this Court's orders.
Trial proceedings are presently scheduled for Monday through Friday from approximately 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in Courtroom 858, however, the schedule remains subject to change. The authorized source of information about the trial schedule, including updated information, late openings and cancellations due to weather or other problems, is the Court's web site, www.mied.uscourts.gov .
Any problems with, or questions about the media's courtroom access are to be raised with Rod Hansen, the Court's Media Information Officer, who can be reached at (313) 234-5421, in Room 840 at the Courthouse, or at Rod_Hansen@mied.uscourts.gov.
Persons interested in obtaining transcripts of the trial should contact the Court Reporter, Suzanne Jacques at iacques@transcriptorders.com. Requests for daily transcripts, to be available the following day, should be made by 5:00 p.m. on the day of the trial for which a transcript is requested.
To ensure the integrity of the jury selection process and this trial, the Court hereby ORDERS that:
1. Contact with Prospective Jurors or Jurors
Contact with prospective jurors or jurors is strictly prohibited. No one may in any respect attempt to or actually contact, interview, or communicate or speak with any prospective juror - who has appeared on September 14, 2011 to fill out the Jury Questionnaire or on any subsequent date - about this case or that person's status as a prospective juror until that juror has been excused from service on this case.
No one may in any respect attempt to or actually contact, interview, or communicate or speak with any of the 16 jurors selected to consider this case about any issue in this case or that person's status as a juror, until the trial is concluded.
Because of the intense media and public interest in this case, the prospective jurors who answer the Jury Questionnaire, as well as the jurors ultimately chosen to hear this case, will remain anonymous, and their completed Jury Questionnaire will remain under seal.
No sketch artist or other trial observer may depict the facial features or hair of any prospective juror or juror, or otherwise display sufficient detail as to enable that person to be identified, and no one may photograph or televise any prospective juror or selected juror, in the vicinity of the Courthouse, in such a way that the person could be identified.
No one observing either the pretrial jury selection proceedings or the trial may attempt in any way to influence or intimidate any juror or prospective juror through any means, including wearing or carrying any clothing, buttons, or other items that may be clearly visible to the jury and that carry any message or symbol addressing any issues related to this case.
2. Electronic Devices
Only law enforcement agents and counsel will be permitted to have cell phones, PDA devices, laptop computers, or other electronic devices in Courtroom 858, and these must remain silent while in the Courtroom or the overflow courtroom. Counsel may use cell phones in the designated areas of the Courthouse. See Eastern District of Michigan Local Rule 83.31(c), (e), and (f). Properly credentialed media will be permitted to have laptops in the overflow and media rooms.
No one viewing these proceedings in this Courthouse may bring into the Courthouse any cameras, electronic recording, or communication devices of any kind. No cameras or recording devices may be used in Courtroom 858, the overflow courtroom, or the media room. No member of the public or the media may record or transmit, or attempt to record or transmit, any court proceedings in any manner. Any violation of this prohibition may result in the banning of all laptops or recording devices or the closing of the media room altogether. In addition, the Court will enter contempt sanctions against any violator, and if attending in the capacity of an employee or agent, the Court will enter sanctions against the employer or principal.
3. Courtroom Decorum
Courtroom 858 will be open 45 minutes before each court session. To minimize disruptions in the Courtroom, all media personnel and other spectators should be seated ten minutes before each session, and absent emergencies, should remain seated throughout the proceedings until court recesses. No one except working court staff, assigned counsel, and those assisting assigned counsel will be permitted to enter the Courtroom once proceedings, including voir dire and the trial, begin. This applies to everyone, including members of the press and the general public.
No beverages or food (other than water at counsel table or the witness stand) are allowed in the Courtroom.
No conversations or disruptive gestures are permitted in the Courtroom.
Failure to comply with these rules will result in removal from the Courtroom.
4. Court Authorized Media ID Badges
Media representatives covering the trial from inside the Courthouse must obtain a court authorized media ID badge and publicly display their ID throughout trial coverage. On entering the Courthouse, media representatives must be screened as is required of all public visitors.
Media representatives must register for a court authorized ID badge by completing the form available on the Court's internet site, www.mied.uscourts.gov and follow the directions on the website for obtaining proper credentials from Rod Hansen, the Court's Media Officer. Rod Hansen can also be reached at the Courthouse, in Room 840, by calling (313) 234-5421, or by emailing him at Rod Hansen@mied.uscourts.gov .
Issued badges will be specific to the coverage of the Abdulmutallab trial. The badges may not be duplicated or shared. At the termination of the trial, media badges must be returned to Rod Hansen. Violations of these protocol requirements, orders or directives of the Court, or directives of the involved law enforcement officers will result in the revocation of ID badges and media coverage privileges.
Limited reserved seating will be available in Courtroom 858 for those media representatives displaying pre-approved credentials for that day's court proceedings. Other media representatives with a media ID badge may view court proceedings from either the overflow courtroom or the media room on the second floor of the Courthouse, Room 214. Laptops may be used in the media room, provided the rules prohibiting recording proceedings is strictly observed.
5. Restrictions on Interviews and Outside Media Area
To assist with overall security and general public access to the Courthouse, the Court has designated the usual outside area for media use throughout the Abdulmutallab trial - the North side of Lafayette, across from the Courthouse. Interviews, still pictures, and film coverage are to be activated and conducted from this area.
Public gatherings are allowable in the areas of the public sidewalks surrounding the Courthouse. At no time should public access to the Courthouse be restricted by media covering events.
No member of the media shall either attempt to secure an interview or conduct an interview in the Courthouse or in any area which prevents ingress to and egress from the Courthouse.
At no time may any attorney or party affiliated with this case hold a press conference in the Courthouse. Likewise, no attorney or party otherwise affiliated with this case may hold a press conference on the front or rear steps of the Courthouse or at any point of ingress or egress from the Courthouse.
Parking of the media's equipment trucks is the responsibility of media personnel and must abide with all security measures.
Needs of the Court to conduct the trial in a safe and orderly fashion may result in the modification of these requirements. Check the Court's website, www.mied.uscourts.govdaily for all updates.
6. Violations
Any violation of this Order by any member of the media will result in an immediate loss of Courtroom seating credentials for that person and all employees of his or her media organization for the duration of the trial.
Moreover, any person who violates this Order may be subject to criminal prosecution for obstruction of justice or contempt of court.
The United States Marshal and his Deputies shall be responsible for maintaining order and decorum in the Courtroom and the Courthouse. All orders given by the Marshal or his deputies shall be deemed orders of this Court and must be complied with immediately. Failure by any person to do so will be subject to sanctions by the Court.
SO ORDERED.
Nancy G. Edmunds
United States District Judge
I hereby certify that a copy of the foregoing document was served upon counsel of record on September 9, 2011, by electronic and/or ordinary mail.
Carol A. Hemeyer
Case Manager