Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Legal News Blogs -> JURIST - The Paper Chase

Legal News

: JURIST - The Paper Chase

9/11 trial security to cost more than $200 million annually: NYC mayor

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has requested federal assistance to pay more than $200 million annually for security for the upcoming trial of five 9/11 suspects, according to a letter made public Wednesday. Bloomberg sent the letter to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Tuesday, estimating that security would cost about $216 million for the first year and $206 million per year in subsequent years, with most of the funds covering the cost of personnel. Bloomberg wrote: The City of New York's financial resources are in short supply, and we have been forced to reduce our Police Department's headcount. Thus, securing the trial will require us to pull existing personnel from crime prevention efforts around the City and require significant overtime expenses. As 9/11 was an attack on the entire nation, we need the federal government to shoulder the significant costs we will incur and ease this burden.The letter was also sent to US Attorney General Eric Holder, Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY), and others. A spokesperson for the OMB said that the federal government will share responsibility for funding security for the trial. No trial date has been set.Holder announced in November that the government would pursue federal charges against the five suspected 9/11 conspirators in a Manhattan district. Holder said that he recommended that the men be tried in civilian court after a case-by-case review conducted by the Department of Justice and the Department of Defense, according to a new protocol announced in July. Reactions to the decision have fallen mostly along partisan lines, with many Republicans opposing the plan, and many Democrats supporting it.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on January 07, 2010 (boomark / email).