Michael Truman, a spokesman for the federal Bureau of Prisons, refused to discuss the specific situation but said, “When necessary the Bureau of Prisons can limit the social visits and phone calls of offenders for safety and security reasons.”  In court, Judge Kugler promised to speak to prison officials about the family visits and problems the defendants cited in contacting their lawyers by telephone, saying, “Obviously, the defendants have got to get better access to you.”  Prosecutors allege that the six men, all in their 20s, are Muslim extremists who trained with firearms, scouted various military installations, watched terrorism videos and tried to buy high-powered weapons to carry out an attack on Fort Dix. At Friday’s hearing, the six men waived their right to a trial within 70 days of indictment and agreed to have it designated a “complex case.” It is now set to begin on Oct. 9.  The judge outlined a plan for quickly screening as many as 1,000 potential jurors in a case that has received wide publicity.  One issue that remains unresolved is a request by prosecutors to keep the identity of the jurors secret. Some of the defense lawyers worry that doing so might give the impression that there is something to fear from the defendants.  Judge Kugler said on Friday that he would “spend a lot of time talking to jurors about that issue,” although he had yet to decide whether to go forward with an anonymous jury.  At least one defense lawyer, Richard Sparaco, who represents Mr. Tatar, said that an anonymous jury would not necessarily be bad for his client.  “It would allow the jury to decide the case based solely upon the evidence or lack of evidence, without fear of public backlash if it were to render an unpopular verdict,” he said in a statement.  Mr. Sparaco also spoke briefly about Mr. Tatar’s letter, which includes several requests of the lawyer — among them that he assist Mr. Tatar in hiring a private investigator — and some scolding, for something Mr. Sparaco called “a misunderstanding.”  “It’s very frustrating to be cooped up in a special housing unit where you can’t get visits from your family,” Mr. Sparaco said. “That frustration starts to boil over when the defendant feels there is no movement in the case.”  The tone of Mr. Duka’s two-page letter is more resigned, and in it Judge Kugler emerges as a potential savior.  “I have a wife and 5 children out there, and they don’t know what to do,” wrote Mr. Duka, who is also known as Tony. After apologizing for wasting the judge’s time, he wrote, “Be kind and merciful.”  Mr. Duka and his brothers, along with Mr. Tatar and Mr. Shnewer, face life in prison for charges including conspiring to kill members of the United States military.  A sixth defendant, Agron Abdullahu, is charged with supplying the Duka brothers with weapons.  In the court record, at the end of Mr. Shnewer’s three-page letter, is an incident report dated July 3. At 1:20 p.m., according to the report, an employee reported that he heard loud chanting.  “The chanting was not in English, and it sounded like it was in an Arabic dialect,” the employee reported, saying he found Mr. Shnewer chanting loudly through the door to his cell. “Inmate Shnewer was to stop and he refused, and he began to chant louder,” the employee said.  It was the second time Mr. Shnewer had been cited for such behavior, the report said.  A version of this article appears in print on , on Page B2 of the New York edition with the headline: In Letters to Judge, Defendants in Fort Dix Case Complain About Treatment. Order Reprints| Today's Paper|Subscribe
Three men accused of plotting a terrorist attack write that prison officials are making it difficult for them to  communicate with their families and their lawyers.