"I have never seen such an egregious violation of a rule on witnesses."

Said Judge Brinkema, halting the Moussaoui trial:

Even prosecutor Novak conceded that the witness coaching was "horrendously wrong."

Brinkema says she needs time to figure out what to do. The defense has moved to eliminate the death penalty from the case, which would end the trial by making life without parole the only possible sentence. Brinkema has already commented that she knows of no case that imposed a death sentence for failure to act. So doesn't it seem likely that the judge will grant the defense motion?

IN THE COMMENTS: "Why are there four pictures of Moussaoui's mother? What does she have to do with the contents of this article? Wouldn't pictures of the lawyers or judge make more sense? She isn't even mentioned in the article."

UPDATE: Judge Brinkema decides to allow the government to continue to seek the death penalty, so I must update my prediction: she will not, in the end, give him the death penalty.