An article in the New York Times raises the question as to whether the trial of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed On charges of masterminding the 9/11 attack on the Word Trade Center and on United Flight 93 will be tried in New York or whether the venue will be changed to another city.

The Sixth Amendment guarantees a defendent in a criminal case , among other rights, the right to an” impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law.” But the right to venue can be waived. In such cases the defendant must make a motion and the court must find that a change of venue is necessary to guarantee a fair trial.

Thus, the first question is whether Khalid Shaikh Mohammed will request a change of venue. Of course this assumes that there will be a trial. Khalid Shaikh Mohammed has stated that he wants to plead guilty. In which there will be no need for a trial or to consider the venue question.

But assuming that he does not plead guilty Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and his attorney will have to decide whether to request a change of venue. The question is not as easy as it might seem. At first glance one would want to get out of New York City as fast as possible. Many New Yorkers had friends and relatives killed on 9/11 and may be quite biased. Picking a jury that will give Mohammed a fair trial may be a near impossible task. But New York is a diverse community known for not imposing the death sentence. Thus if the goal is to save his life his defense team may decide not to move for a change of venue.

But even if the defense decides to consider a change in venue they may find that it is inappropriate. They will be required to hire experts to see if Mohammed is more likely to get a fair trial in each city. The expert will poll individuals in New York City and several other cities to determine the liklihood of getting a fair trial in New York and other chosen cities. In previous terrorist trials polls have have found that it is not the advantage of the alleged terrorist. In the case of Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman the defense planned to request a change of venue but after the polling was done they changed their mind since there did not seem to be a clear advantage to a change of venue. The 9/11 attack is known nationwide and it may be impossible a better jury outside of New York City. While the attack on the World Trade Center occurred in New York it resulted in nationwide consequences and a nationwide stigma against anyone who may have been connected to the attack.

Attorney General Eric Holder announced that five detainees, including alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed will be tried in New york City and another five will be tried by military tribunals, including Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, who is accused of planning the bombing the U. S, navy destroyer, the USS Cole in Yemen.

The trial of Mohammed promises to be the biggest trial since the OJ trial. It carries risks and benefits for the United States. The difference between military tribunals and trials in the United States District Court is that a District Court trial must follow all of the rights found in the Bill of Rights, while the defendant’s rights are more limited in a trial before a military tribunal. Specifically the Supreme Court has ruled that testimony obtained by torture or coercion cannot be used in a court but it is permissible before the military tribunals.

Some family members of those who died and conservative Republicans argue that terrorists do not deserve the same rights as American citizens. But by giving terrorist the same rights as we give to others accused of crimes we exhibit our belief in our judicial system and our humanity. What if some of the detainees are innocent. We believe that people are innocent until proven guilty and none of the detainees have been proven guilty in a court of law. Certainly innocent people deserve the full benefit of our laws and the Bill of Rights.

But there are certainly risks involved. It may lead to further terrorist attacks on New York City. They may come on the day set for trial, the day the verdict comes down or on the date of sentencing. While the world may admire our Bill of Rights it will not admire the death penalty if the defendants are convicted. Some may say the death penalty is as barbaric as some of the terrorist acts. Furthermore the government will be rightly blamed for bringing Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri to trial before the tribunal and not in a court of law. The use of testimony obtained through torture will and should be condemned. Furthermore, the use of the death penalty may make the detainees martyrs in many parts of the world and lead to revenge on the United States.