The trial of Jose Padilla begins today in Miami.
The accused al-Qaida operative was arrested five years ago after authorities became suspicious that he was involved in a plot to detonate a dirty bomb.
Federal prosecutors never charged him with that crime. Instead, they are trying him on a charge of being a member of an Islamic sleeper cell.
NPR's Mike Pesca reports on what has changed since Padilla was first apprehended; then, Slate.com legal analyst Dahlia Lithwick speaks with Alex Chadwick about the government's credibility in the Padilla case.
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