On criminal justice and national security issues, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit is widely considered the most government-friendly federal appeals court. So when a 4th Circuit panel rebukes the Bush administration for its handling of an accused terrorist, in a decision written by a judge who was on the president's Supreme Court short list, even the president's most ardent supporters have to wonder what's going on.
.......
The 4th Circuit case involves Jose Padilla, a U.S. citizen who was arrested at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport in 2002. Declaring that the arrest had foiled a plan to detonate a radiological bomb in the U.S., the government soon transferred Padilla to military custody, where he has remained ever since.
.......
In a September decision, the 4th Circuit concluded that Congress' post-9/11 resolution had given the president the authority to keep Padilla in military custody, assuming the allegations against him were true. But two months after this decision, the Bush administration unveiled a criminal indictment of Padilla, asked the 4th Circuit for permission to transfer him to civilian custody, and said the court's ruling should be withdrawn because it was no longer necessary. Taken aback at the government's reversal, the court said no.
In an opinion by J. Michael Luttig, the three judges who had upheld the president's detention authority said they were disturbed by the appearance that the government was trying to avoid Supreme Court review. They also noted that Padilla's indictment, which charges him with conspiring to support terrorism and commit violence abroad, "made no mention of the acts upon which the government purported to base its military detention of Padilla."
http://www.reason.com/sullum/122805.shtml
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
