OH, THEY CAN'T MEAN THIS - AT 4:28 P.M. ET:  On a spin, the trial of the century, and our safety, may well depend.  How may the judge in the New York "mastermind of 9-11" trial of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed be selected?  From The New York Times:

At first glance, the wooden wheel looks as if it might have been used to call out bingo numbers in a church fund-raiser. But sometime soon, a federal magistrate judge in Manhattan could be spinning the wheel in open court, unlocking a small door on one of its sides, and pulling out a sealed envelope containing the name of a judge.

That judge could well be charged with overseeing the trial of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and four others accused in the Sept. 11 terror attacks. And that judge will have to consider questions as procedural as trial dates and as controversial and delicate as evidence gained through torture.

The case could last years, and the judge who gets it will most likely be assigned security around the clock — for his or her lifetime.

COMMENT:  Caution.  It is not absolutely certain that the wheel will be used.  There are other methods available.  As the story says, the Justice Department may seek to join this case to another, current terrorism case, where the judge has already been selected.  However, that judge is Jewish, and you can just imagine the comments among the Islamists and in the print columns of their stalwart friends on the left. 

But the wheel carries with it all kinds of risks.  What if we wind up with the person considered to be the "worst judge in New York," to cite a newspaper series that used to run regularly?  What if we wind up with the most left-leaning judge available?  What if we wind up with New York's Lance Ito?

It shows how foolish was the decision to try the 9-11 kingpin in an ordinary federal courtroom.  This is the first of many complications.

November 27, 2009