Iowa prosecutors have withdrawn their opposition to delaying the trial for the Agriprocessors kosher meatpacking plant and its top managers. Attorney’s for Agriprocessors Inc. and its leaders, Reb Avrohom Rubashkin, Reb Sholom Mordechai Rubashkin and four other employees had asked to delay the trial, set for April 20 in Allamakee County.The state objected, but yesterday the Iowa attorney general’s office withdrew its resistance to the delay, indicating it is needed for the analysis of e-mails seized from the Postville plant.
Back in March, a federal judge brushed aside contentions that Reb Shalom Mordechai Rubashkin’s indictment was tainted by anti-Semitism. Lawyers for Shalom Mordechai had asked for a dismissal of numerous charges. The defense lawyers brought clear proof in court in February that witnesses before a federal grand jury made negative references to the fact that Shalom Mordechai and other former Agriprocessors managers are Orthodox Jews. The lawyers presented an expert on jury issues, who said those stereotypes could have helped lead to the indictment of Shalom Mordechai and the other men.
But Chief District Judge Linda Reade ruled that there was no basis to this despite clear evidence that there is.
{Elisha Ferber-Matzav.com Newscenter}
