And those who are most likely to be screened out during the process known as voir dire are educated jurors who are well informed about current events. The defense will also object to any prospective juror who followed the events of 9/11 carefully; anyone who has family members who have ever worked in law enforcement, for the fire department, or in emergency medical services; and anyone with a high regard or trust in government or law enforcement. And that's just the beginning.
Once the trial starts, the defense will use a tactic that served O.J.'s "dream team" well: conspiracy theories meant to distract jurors from the actual evidence introduced. In O.J.'s case, Johnnie Cochran and company suggested none too subtly that racist police planted evidence. When KSM comes to trial, expect to hear defense witnesses and attorneys suggest that the U.S. knew in advance of the attacks and planted explosives in the World Trade Center that helped bring down the building. They may also revive the despicable canard that Israel was really responsible for the attack and that it warned Jews who worked at the WTC to stay home on Sept. 11. These conspiracy theories have fueled best-selling books in Europe, are widely accepted in the Arab world, and were even endorsed by presidential aide Van Jones (who resigned once his association with the so-called 9/11 truthers was exposed).
Are such theories too wild to be believed by any New Yorkers, especially those most likely to end up on a KSM jury? Don't bet on it. Several polls taken over the last 20 years show that between a quarter and a third of black Americans believe that AIDS was concocted in a laboratory by the U.S. government with the express purpose of committing genocide against blacks. And you can bet that KSM's defense attorneys will be looking for jurors every bit as paranoid and gullible. And remember, they need only one such juror to force a hung jury or even acquittal. Our attorney general is gambling with the nation's security, and the odds aren't reassuring.