Opinion ID: 181375
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Website Materials

Text: The district court also allowed the jury to view various materials, including Osama bin Laden's 1996 fatwa against the United States, that were marketed or posted on Azzam's websites in or around 2001. The government could not prove that Abu-Jihaad saw a particular posting, only that he visited the site during times when the postings were available. See United States v. Abu-Jihaad, 553 F.Supp.2d at 128-29. The court acknowledged that such materials had the potential to inflame a juror's passions. Id. at 129. Nevertheless, it concluded that the risk of such prejudice did not outweigh the probative value of the materials to the jury's assessment of Abu-Jihaad's intent and motive in communicating with Azzam. In reaching this conclusion, the court emphasized that it had gone to extraordinary lengths to select jurors who would not let passion or bias infect their consideration of evidence and who would conscientiously follow appropriate limiting instructions. Id. On this record, we identify no abuse of discretion in admission of the Azzam website materials.