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Attorney General Holder Drafts 9/11 Trial Security Plans

By Kamika Dunlap on December 11, 2009 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

United States Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. is busy drafting security plans for the 9/11 trials.

He recently took a trip to New York to meet with federal prosecutors and law enforcement officials about the securing the courtrooms where, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed the accused mastermind behind the Sept. 11 attacks and other 9/11 detainees will be tried.

The 9/11 trials will be held in federal court in Lower Manhattan. In our previous post on FindLaw's Blotter, we discussed some of the reasons determining why Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and other alleged plotters of the 911 attack will be tried as terrorists and criminals in a federal court.

Attorney General Holder said the factors used to decide included "the nature of the offense, the location in which the offense occurred, the identity of the victims, and the manner in which the case was investigated."

According to the New York Times, the goal of the Holder's visit was to work with Manhattan Police Department to make make security plans to provide security around the venue and protection of the city including its bridges, transit system.

Security operations and paying overtime to police officers is expected to exceed $75 million. At a Nov. 18, hearing Sen. Charles Schummer requested money in the federal budget to help the city with the extra cost.

As previously discussed, several other issues with the 911 cases are being sorted out including selecting the defense lawyers.

They will be chosen from short list or "capital panel" of New York attorneys who have broad experience in death penalty and other complex criminal cases.

In the meantime, Attorney General Holder is continuing to work with law enforcement officials on security plans to prevent any threats that may arise from these 9/11 trials yet to be scheduled.

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