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Supreme Court Refuses To Take Al-Arian's Appeal

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By The Tampa Tribune | The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 6, 2008

Updated: 10/06/2008 05:39 pm

Sami Al-Arian has lost a bid to have the U.S. Supreme Court consider his case.

Al-Arian had appealed rulings that he could be prosecuted for contempt for refusing to testify before a Virginia grand jury investigating Islamic charities. His attorneys argued that his 2006 plea agreement in Tampa had exempted him from having to cooperate with prosecutors.

After a jury in 2005 failed to convict Al-Arian on numerous charges and deadlocked on others, Al-Arian pleaded guilty to a single charge of providing assistance to a terrorist organization.

The former University of South Florida professor is free on bail in Virginia pending his prosecution there on contempt charges for refusing to testify before a grand jury. The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to take his appeal. It was unclear when his trial in Virginia may happen.

Al-Arian's attorney, law professor Jonathan Turley, said, "We are obviously disappointed in the failure of the Supreme Court to accept the case. Dr. Al-Arian, however, remains committed to vindicating himself before the trial court and enforcing the plea agreement reached with the government."

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