The Lady Al Qaeda Case is Out of Control

This blog was written before Aafia Siddiqui was convicted last month. I was actually afraid to make it public, but I hate living in fear. Please read it.

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According to the good people at the New York Daily News:

She's not just out of control - she's out of her mind.

Or so lawyers for the so-called "Lady al Qaeda" claimed Tuesday as asked a judge to bar their client from taking the stand in her own defense.

Lawyers for MIT-trained scientist Aafia Siddiqui say her request to testify "is driven by her severe mental illness and would turn the trial into a spectacle."

"It has been and continues to be our belief that Dr. Siddiqui suffers from diminished capacity," the lawyers wrote in a letter to Manhattan Federal Richard Berman.
The bid to muzzle Siddiqui - charged with attempted murder for opening fire on Americans in Afghanistan - is a longshot since she's already been found competent.

What the heck does "already found competent" mean? Don't they know that people can decompensate at any time? Judges have an obligation to not let litigants go crazy in courtroom. It is clear this woman is going to do it every day. She should be found incompetent!


According to the U.S. Supreme Court, there is a reason she should be found incompetent:

It is settled that, if evidence available to a trial judge raises a bona fide doubt regarding a defendant's ability to understand and participate in the proceedings against him, the judge has an obligation to order an examination to assess his competency, even if the defendant does not request such an exam. Porter v. McKaskle, 466 U.S. 984 (1984)

According to the Federal Code of Judicial Conduct:

Section 100.3 A judge shall perform the duties of judicial office impartially and diligently.

(A) Judicial duties in general. The judicial duties of a judge take precedence over all the judge's other activities. The judge's judicial duties include all the duties of the judge's office prescribed by law. In the performance of these duties, the following standards apply.

(B) Adjudicative Responsibilities.

(1) A judge shall be faithful to the law and maintain professional competence in it. A judge shall not be swayed by partisan interests, public clamor or fear of criticism.

(2) A judge shall require order and decorum in proceedings before the judge.

(3) A judge shall be patient, dignified and courteous to litigants, jurors, witnesses, lawyers and others with whom the judge deals in an official capacity, and shall require similar conduct of lawyers, and of staff, court officials and others subject to the judge's direction and control.

The prosecutor, David Rody, says "she is clearly doing it opportunistically" as if just saying that proves that he's right. He does not elaborate, then he denies that she is not making a political statement.

Okay, Mr. Rody, what is it, then? It's not a policital statement. It's not the behavior of a sick woman who is in extreme pain. What is it?

Deny. Deny. Deny.

In New York, they call the book I'm thinking of the "Lawyer's Code of Professional Responsibility". There is a lot in that book that Lawyers like Prosecutor Rody should accord his behavior to.

According to the Preamble:

Not every situation which the lawyer may encounter can be foreseen, but fundamental ethical principles are always present for guidance. Within the framework of these principles, a lawyer must with courage and foresight be able and ready to shape the body of the law to the ever-changing relationships of society.

According to the Disciplinary Rules:

DR 1-102 [1200.3] Misconduct.

A. A lawyer or law firm shall not:

1. Violate a Disciplinary Rule.
...

6. Unlawfully discriminate in the practice of law, including in hiring, promoting or otherwise determining conditions of employment, on the basis of age, race, creed, color, national origin, sex, disability, marital status, or sexual orientation. Where there is a tribunal with jurisdiction to hear a complaint, if timely brought, other than a Departmental Disciplinary Committee, a complaint based on unlawful discrimination shall be brought before such tribunal in the first instance. A certified copy of a determination by such a tribunal, which has become final and enforceable, and as to which the right to judicial or appellate review has been exhausted, finding that the lawyer has engaged in an unlawful discriminatory practice shall constitute prima facie evidence of professional misconduct in a disciplinary proceeding.

If we, as citizens of this country, can stand by and let this happen in plain sight, then we ourselves are hurting our felow countrymen.

Do something. Call the New York State Bar Association. File a complaint!

Do the same with the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct! Do not be afraid!

The worst that could happen is they will find something wrong with your complaint. If you don't stand up and fight, the consequences will be more severe.

Warm Regards,


Erik B. Anderson
Independence Township, New Jersey
Established 1782