Constitutional Query Delays Terrorist Trial

The start of the trial for an American citizen accused in May 2006 of providing material support to Al Qaeda is being stalled while attorneys in the case dispute the constitutionality of the Classified Information Protection Act.

Syed Hashmi, 27, is charged with two counts of conspiracy and of providing support to Al Qaeda.

For the case to go forward, its defense attorneys must submit to a federally administered background check and a protective order must be signed to satiate national security concerns over sharing the classified information, prosecutors charged yesterday in U.S. District Court in Manhattan. Defense attorneys argued that the act's limitations prohibit them from communicating with their client, and that it is a violation of privacy to submit to a background check to work on the case.