Attorneys likely will read book by Moose

Neither prosecutors nor defense attorneys in the sniper trials received a copy of Charles Moose’s book before it went on sale yesterday.

They weren’t running out to buy it, either, despite their concerns that the former Montgomery County police chief’s chronicle of last fall’s manhunt for the Washington-area sniper might influence potential jurors.

“I haven’t seen it,” said Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Robert F. Horan Jr., who is prosecuting sniper suspect Lee Boyd Malvo in November.

Mr. Horan said he read newspaper accounts of Mr. Moose promising to give advance copies of his book “Three Weeks in October” to prosecutors. But neither Mr. Moose nor his publisher, E.P. Dutton, had contacted Mr. Horan’s office. Mr. Horan said he would have to read it before Mr. Malvo’s trial starts Nov. 10.

Mr. Moose, who acted as the public face of the three-week search for the sniper suspects, was not available to comment yesterday. Officials with Dutton did not return calls seeking comment yesterday.

Mr. Moose quit his job in June after the Montgomery County Ethics Commission ruled in May that he couldn’t write his book. He sued the commission in federal court, saying that its ruling interfered with his First Amendment right to free speech.

Peter Greenspun, an attorney representing the other accused sniper, John Allen Muhammad, said he was not interested in the book beyond any information that may affect his client’s defense.

“This book is only an effort to make money by someone I thought was in public service,” Mr. Greenspun said. “I have no reason to support that.”

Mr. Muhammad’s attorneys tried to delay the book’s publication until after their client’s trial, which is scheduled to begin Oct. 14. They filed a motion in federal court in July asking a judge to delay publication. The motion was filed in connection with Mr. Moose’s lawsuit against the ethics commission.

Later that month, Mr. Moose dropped his lawsuit against the commission after he settled the dispute. As a result, a federal judge rejected Mr. Muhammad’s bid to delay the book’s release, saying the defense’s motion was moot because Mr. Moose had dropped the suit.

Pretrial publicity had been a concern of both defense teams from the beginning. The courts moved both trials out of the Washington area after recognizing that most potential jurors in the region had been traumatized by the sniper attacks.

Mr. Greenspun said the publisher’s decision to release the book just weeks before Mr. Muhammad’s trial shows that marketing strategy trumped any concern for justice.

The author and publisher could have waited until the sniper trials were over before releasing the book, he said.

“Mr. Moose and his publishers want to take advantage of the upcoming trials to help sell books,” Mr. Greenspun said. “The timing of this … makes it clear that it is all about money.”

Feelings were mixed among book store customers yesterday.

At Waldenbooks in Wheaton, some customers didn’t approve of Mr. Moose profiting from the shootings. But it didn’t stop them from buying the book.

“I see a lot of trials that are being tainted because juries are hearing too much before the trial,” said Patty Marks, a 49-year-old attorney from Woodbine, Md. “Moose understands the implications. I hold him to a higher standard.”

She left the store with one of the nine copies the store sold by 3:30 p.m. yesterday.

Others at the store remained steadfast fans of Mr. Moose.

Robin Kutshaw, 41, of Rockville, said she was “sad to see him go” as she picked up her copy of the book.

At the Border’s Book and Music at White Flint Mall in Rockville, Patricia Duvall, 40, bought four copies, three of which she will give to her three young boys. Mrs. Duvall said Mr. Moose did the right thing by publishing the book before the trials.

“He should not have waited after the trials because it has to be fresh in his mind,” said Mrs. Duvall, an administrative assistant who lives in Wheaton. “He should not have been forced out of his job. He did an outstanding job trying to keep the community together and sane during those three weeks.”

Mr. Muhammad, 42, and Mr. Malvo, 18, have been charged with 13 random sniper shootings that left 10 dead and three wounded last October in Virginia, Maryland and the District.

Mr. Muhammad goes on trial in Virginia Beach for the Oct. 9 slaying of Dean H. Meyers, 53, at a Manassas-area gas station. His trial was moved from Prince William County.

Mr. Malvo goes on trial Nov. 10 in Chesapeake, Va., for the Oct. 14 killing of FBI analyst Linda Franklin, 47, at a Home Depot store in Falls Church. His trial was moved from Fairfax County.