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Ciccolo Case Delayed Another Two Months
By Stephen Dravis, iBerkshires Staff
06:18PM / Tuesday, September 26, 2017
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SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — A technical glitch and a technical legal question are the latest causes of delay in the case against an Adams man accused of plotting terrorist attacks.
 
The lawyers in the case of the United States vs Alexander Ciccolo were back in Judge Mark G. Mastroianni's court on Tuesday morning.
 
The attorneys have spent months hashing out the issues of discovery, i.e., what information the government is required to give the defense prior to trial in light of the fact that much of that evidence is covered by the Classified Information Procedures Act.
 
It was apparent at the start of the 15-minute hearing that even the internal workings of the federal court have to adjust to the strictures of the act.
 
"I can tell the parties the court is prepared to rule on the motions that are pending," Mastroianni said. "It has just been a logistical issue of understanding the way to prepare those rulings and get them out under the circumstances of dealing with this type of information.
 
"We can't use the computers and printers we have in this office. … We're literally waiting for equipment to be delivered here."
 
At the end of the hearing, he said he was sure he could have rulings prepared for the litigants in time to set a Nov. 28 date for the next status conference in the case.
 
Hardware issues are not the only thing on Mastroianni's mind as he ponders a case that began with Ciccolo's July 4, 2015, arrest.
 
He said he was trying to determine whether there were different standards to assess evidence based on how it might be used for defense at different stages of the trial: negotiation with the prosecution, at trial and, if the case gets that far, during the sentencing phase.
 
A prosecutor in the case told Mastroianni that the government believes it has been as complete as the law requires in sharing evidence with Ciccolo's defense team.
 
"The [CIPA] act is to protect the information itself," said D. Andrew Sigler, a trial attorney in the Department of Justice's Counterterrorism Section. "It's flexible for us to assert it at any proceeding. Right now, we believe in good faith the government has tendered enough information for the defense to make any decision.
 
"As any motion is filed … we would use CIPA as needed. … If we're headed to trial, I'm reasonably confident all of our discovery has been taken care of."
 
Mastroianni said he was not sure whether his rulings on such motions should be based on the same standard at all phases of the trial.
 
 
"This is going to be a hypothetical, but assume there is something a court found was protected and not disclosed to defense for trial," Mastroianni said. "Is there precedent … for a re-evaluation and reargument on the same issue? Is it subject to re-examination at sentencing. That's what I'm thinking about.
 
"It's almost an academic conversation, but nonetheless it is something we could face in this case."
 
Mastroianni ruled that the 60-day period between Tuesday and the Nov. 28 hearing will be excluded from the time provision under the Speedy Trial Act.
 
Ciccolo, who has been in federal custody since his 2015 arrest, did not attend Tuesday's hearing.
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