BREAKING: The Marine judge who was assigned to preside in the 9/11 trial two weeks ago abruptly quit today. His departure is sure to delay the Guantanamo trial past next year’s anniversary of the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people on Sept. 11, 2001. nytimes.com/2020/10/02/us/…
Colonel Keane got the case on Sept. 17 and said that, upon reflection, certain jobs he had held in his Marine career, as well as family connections, led him to conclude that his serving as a judge in the case “arguably creates an appearance of bias.”
Judge: This case has been mired in lengthy, slow-moving and costly litigation... I would be remiss to be the cause of further delay whilst also sewing such a significant appellate issue into the record of this case. Maintaining the integrity of the process is my foremost concern.
For those of you who are dismayed and wondering why after all these years...
Consider this for your weekend #longread. (The only real since we published this in April is there was another judge. For two weeks.)
nytimes.com/2020/04/17/us/…
For the SemperFi folks: Colonel Keane remains the senior Marine Corps judge on the West Coast, based at Camp Pendleton. The 9/11 case was to be an additional duty, with him commuting between the bases in Cuba and California by way of Andrews AFB outside Washington DC.
*The only real change since we published this in April was the addition of another judge... (dropped word.)
Including the chief judge, Colonel Douglas Watkins, who had the capital case as a caretaker this year, 5 colonels have presided since arraignment 8 years ago. Now it is up to Judge Watkins, who retires from the Army next year, to find a 6th military judge for the case.
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