JURIST - Paper Chase: Federal judge says no mistrial in ex-professor terror case

[JURIST] A US judge Wednesday denied Sami Al-Arian's request for a mistrial after suggestions emerged that the jury was tainted in the ongoing trial against the ex-professor [JURIST report]. Sami Al-Arian [Wikipedia profile, advocacy website] and three other defendants are on trial in Florida related to charges [official charge sheet] that they used money from a local school and think tank to fund violent attacks by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) [Wikipedia backgrounder] in Israel. Earlier this week, two jurors came forward with information that another juror said the Islamic Academy of Florida school and Islamic think tank World and Islam Studies Enterprise were fronts for the PIJ. Despite US District Court Judge James Moody's original denial of Al-Arian's mistrial request, he did commit to studying the transcript to determine what the juror said and also to taking suggestions from attorneys on how to continue questioning the three jurors. From Florida, the St. Petersburg Times has local coverage and continuing trial coverage.

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