Terrorism Prosecutions

Deputy Attorney General Paul J. McNulty talked about the maze of legal decisions, obstacles, and successes the Department of Justice faces in prosecuting terrorists. Prior to his confirmation as deputy attorney general, Mr. McNulty was the U.S. attorney who charged and supervised the trial of Zacarias Moussaoui. He talked about the challenges of using traditional prosecutorial tools in Article III courts to bring terrorists to justice. After his remarks he was joined by Neal Katyal and Ben Wittes in a panel moderated by Jack Goldsmith to discuss the future of terrorism prosecutions. Topics included whether civilian courts or military commissions or modified civilian courts are better suited to trying terrorists and why some terrorist suspects are tried in civilian Article III courts while others are tried in military commissions or are detained without trial. close