Terror-plot defense: Evidence, not emotion

0 Comments | Philadelphia Inquirer, The, May, 2007 | by George Anastasia Inquirer Staff Writer

It's a case splattered with the emotional buzzwords of 21st-century America.

Jihad.

Terrorism.

Radical Islamists.

But at the end of the day, say several court-appointed attorneys representing the men charged this month with plotting an attack on Fort Dix, it has to be about the validity of the evidence and the credibility of the witnesses.

"These types of cases test the system," said Michael Huff, a Philadelphia lawyer representing Dritan Duka, 28, one of three accused brothers. "They test our integrity as a society. If this is terrorism, do you suspend the rules, suspend the Constitution? . . . No. We treat everybody fairly. That's the strength of this country."

"Everybody has a...