TRIAL IN ERROR. Today, Human Rights Watch released a report on the legal and procedural failings of Saddam Hussein's trial. It's not a shocker -- the trial didn't follow standard rules:

regular failure to disclose key evidence, including exculpatory evidence, to the defense in advance; �

violations of the defendants� basic fair trial right to confront witnesses against them; �

lapses of judicial demeanor that undermined the apparent impartiality of the presiding judge; and

important gaps in evidence that undermine the persuasiveness of the prosecution case, and put in doubt whether all the elements of the crimes charged were established.

For most interested parties, of course, the outcome was more important than the trial itself.

--Kay Steiger