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"Is it against the law to swear an oath to al-Qaida, agreeing to abide by the directives of al-Qaida?"

That was the fascinating question that the Liberty City 6 jury asked Judge Lenard today.

Curt Anderson from the AP has more here.

Unsurprisingly, the government said that the Court should answer the question Yes, while the defense said No.

According to Anderson: "U.S. District Judge Joan Lenard answered with her own note telling jurors to carefully read her instructions in the case, particularly those describing material support to a foreign terrorist organization." *** "This is a determination for them to make," Lenard said outside the jury's presence. "They may see it as providing material support or they may not."

This is not an easy one -- In a pure vacuum, it's obviously not a crime to swear an oath to al-Qaida. The question is whether it's a crime in this case -- did the defendants have the requisite intent to offer material support for a terrorist organization? In that sense, the oath can be viewed as evidence.... So I think Judge Lenard's answer was the appropriate one, although probably not altogether satisfying to either party or to the jurors.

Full post as published by Southern District of Florida on April 01, 2008 (boomark / email).