United States Fourth Circuit

In a prosecution of an al Qaeda terrorist, Zacarias Moussaoui, for his participation in the conspiracy that led to the 9/11 attacks, district court's conviction and sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of release is affirmed and defendant's motion to remand denied where: 1) even if defendant was allowed a Brady-type challenge to his guilty plea based solely upon the failure of the prosecution to produce exculpatory evidence, defendant has failed to demonstrate the the Government withheld exculpatory material that would have caused him to forego his guilty plea and proceed to trial, much less evidence of his actual innocence; 2) the finality of the guilty plea, entered knowingly, intelligently, and with sufficient awareness of the relevant circumstances and likely consequences, stands; and 3) defendant's renewed motion to remand is denied.

Appellate Information

• Decided 01/04/2010
• Published 01/04/2010

Judges

• Before TRAXLER, Chief Judge, and GREGORY and SHEDD, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Fourth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellees:
  
• ARGUED:Barbara Lynn Hartung, Richmond, Virginia, for Appellant. Kevin R. Gingras, United States Department of Justice, Washington, D.C., for Appellee. ON BRIEF:Justin S. Antonipillai, Robert A. McCarter, Rebecca L.D. Gordon, Joseph M. Meadows, Robert Alexander Schwartz, Danielle M. Garten, Whitney A. Moore, Arnold & Porter, LLP, Washington, D.C., for Appellant. Chuck Rosenberg, United States Attorney, David J. Novak, Assistant United States Attorney, David Raskin, Assistant United States Attorney, David B. Goodhand, Assistant United States Attorney, Office of the United States Attorney, Alexandria, Virginia; United States Department of Justice, Appellate Section, Criminal Division, Washington, DC, for Appellee. Joshua L. Dratel, Law Offices of Joshua L. Dratel, PC, New York, New York; Theresa M. Duncan, Zachary Ives, Freedman Boyd Hollander Goldberg & Ives, PA, Albuquerque, New Mexico, for Amicus Supporting Appellant.