Mr. Bracken, speaking on behalf of the families who attended the arraignment, said watching the proceedings made him "very angry," both because it took him back to the events of Sept. 11 — he said he watched the second plane hit the World Trade Center tower where his sister worked, although he did not realize that at the time — and because of the detainees' displays of defiance.
Five newspapers -- The New York Times, Newsday, The Hartford Courant, The Advocate of Stamford and Greenwich Time -- filed a motion to open Mr. Skakel's arraignment, as well as subsequent proceedings.
But the decision today ensures that Mr. Skakel's arraignment on Tuesday and later proceedings will be open even if the judge denies the prosecution's request and the case moves forward in Juvenile Court.
At his arraignment in March, he rejected the trial proceedings, and alleged that he had been tortured at the US prison at Bagram airbase in Afghanistan, and had been mistreated in Guantánamo.
He said that he and Ms. Newirth had represented both women during the arraignment but they would represent only Ms. Joyner during further proceedings.
Other than arraignment courtrooms that work into the night, Judge Pfau wrote, all court proceedings "generally should end no later than 4 30 p.m". rather than the current 5 p.m.
Following are excerpts from Saddam Hussein's arraignment yesterday, as transcribed by Federal Document Clearing House Inc. from a translation of the Arabic-language proceedings broadcast by CNN.
Despite the theatrics and the painfully slow pace of the arraignment, the relatives and the emergency workers said they would continue to diligently observe the proceedings.
Under Vermont bail laws, judges have the power, at the time of arraignment, to require defendants to participate in treatment programs if it's necessary to protect the public or ensure that defendants appear at future court proceedings.
