Lawyers Get Access To Alleged Bomber

Judge Gives Defense Attorneys Access To Accused Would-Be Bomber

(AP)  A federal judge in Boston has eased restrictions on lawyers' access to accused shoe bomber Richard C. Reid, but imposed his own ban on the defense repeating conversations with their client, saying "we are engaged in a war on terrorism."

Chief U.S. District Judge William G. Young said Monday that federal prosecutors did not have the authority to limit contact between Reid and his defense, but agreed with prosecutors that the sensitive nature of the case required careful handling of information.

"You get access. You keep what you hear to yourself," Young told Reid's attorneys. "We are engaged in a war on terrorism. (Prosecutors) try to restrict data that if gets loose might affect national security."

Reid has been in U.S. custody since Dec. 22, when he allegedly attempted to light explosives hidden in his shoes during a trans-Atlantic flight. Passengers subdued Reid, and the plan was diverted to Boston.

He has since been linked to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda terror network. He has pleaded innocent to nine charges that include attempting to murder the 197 passengers and crew members aboard the Paris-to-Miami American Airlines Flight 63.

Monday's emergency hearing was on restrictions that the government has attempted to place on Reid, citing national security concerns.

The 12-page "special administrative measures," drafted Feb. 20 and approved by Attorney General John Ashcroft, placed a "reasonable limit on his confinement" and protected the public, said Associate U.S. Attorney Gerard T. Leone, who is leading the prosecution and heads the Massachusetts Anti-Terrorism Task Force.

Reid's defense team disagreed and refused to sign the measure, which included a ban on bringing expert witnesses to meet with Reid.

"It's pettifogging, illogical, niggling," federal defender Owen Walker said of the measures on Monday.

The restriction also prevent Reid from talking or praying with other inmates, require him to talk only in English unless an FBI-approved translator is present, and giving prison officials latitude to decide whether his attorneys meet with him in the same room.

Last Friday, the government cut off the legal team's access - including phone calls — to Reid, who had been moved from the Plymouth County House of Corrections to a maximum security cell in state prison in Walpole without the Reid's lawyers being notified, according to Reid's defense team.

In his order, Young overturned the communication ban, saying that Reid should get reasonable access to his attorneys, and also ruled that he cannot be moved without a court order.

Both sides have until 10 a.m. Tuesday to appeal Young's order.

Walker agreed with Young's order that information not be shared.

"We're not going to communicate anything Mr. Reid says to strangers whom we don't know or have reason to trust," Walker said.