Zacarias Moussaoui

You can think what you want about the death penalty, I'm generally against it for reasons that don't apply to this case, but what TSA lawyer Carla Martin has done in the Zacarias Moussaoui case is beyond ridiculous. From the Washington Post:

U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema, clearly exasperated by the new problems in the oft-delayed case, called the conduct of Carla J. Martin, a Transportation Security Administration lawyer, "the most egregious violation of the court's rules on witnesses" she had seen "in all the years I've been on the bench."

Even prosecutors were stunned by Martin's actions, calling them "reprehensible" in court papers and adding, "We frankly cannot fathom why she engaged in such conduct."

What's even worse, Martin is not a part of the prosecution team, she is simply there to serve as a liaison between prosecutors and witness that need to testify about airport security. She has compromised this case and should not only be fired from her job, she should lose her license to practice law. It should also be noted that Martin served as a TSA attorney in a 9/11 civil case (Mariani vs. United Airlines) in which TSA officials were indicated in evidence tampering.

Look, I always thought this case was a slam dunk not matter how weak the prosecution's case is, and from Martin's e-mails it looks to be weak. From the Post:

Further embarrassing the government, Martin's e-mails sharply criticized prosecutors' case, saying, among other things, that their opening statement "has created a credibility gap that the defense can drive a truck through."

and

Martin's e-mails were highly critical of the government's case, especially an assertion by prosecutors that the government could have stopped the Sept. 11 terror attacks if Moussaoui had not lied to the FBI by, among other things, having the FAA focus airport security on short-bladed knives. The Sept. 11 hijackers used such knives to take over four airplanes.

"There is no way anyone could say that the carriers could have prevented all short bladed knives from going through -- Dave [Novak] MUST elicit that from you and the airline witnesses on direct, and not allow the defense to cut your credibility on cross," Martin wrote.

That's pretty damning, so, what do we do now. The judge could issue a mistrial, but I don't know if that's the way to go. The same witnesses would have to testify again and the damage has been done. The judge should end this case, give Moussaoui life and prison, and move on.