Padilla and the 4th Circuit
Something interesting has developed in the Jose Padilla case. As I noted in a blog last month, Padilla was indicted by the government. The indictment means he would need to be transferred from military detention to civilian jail to stand trial. But there was a snag. To the prosecution’s surprise, when they sought permission from the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals to transfer Padilla, the Court was perplexed by the move. Indeed, the Bush administration back in September had vigorously fought for the right to continue to hold Padilla indefinitely without trial as an enemy combatant. But when the indictment came about in November, none of the allegations the Bush administration made against Padilla were included. The Court ruled in September that the government had the right to hold Padilla indefinitely without trial (explaining in no less the 17 pages why it was OK for them to do so). Its ruling was based on what the government had told them. The Court has delayed his transfer because it wants to determine how the new indictment would affect there earlier ruling.
One wonders if the judges are slowly coming to the realization they were used by the Bush administration.
Update 12/22/05: The 4th Circuit officially rejected the request to transfer Padilla to civilian custody. In the decision, the court questioned why the Bush administration relied on one set of facts for 3 ½ years to justify holding Padilla without charges and another set to convince a grand jury to indict Padilla last month. One of the judges said that the administration risked losing “creditability before the courts” by appearing to use the indictment to thwart an appeal of the ruling that gave Bush wide discretion to hold enemy combatants.
(Originally posted on Yahoo360)
One wonders if the judges are slowly coming to the realization they were used by the Bush administration.
Update 12/22/05: The 4th Circuit officially rejected the request to transfer Padilla to civilian custody. In the decision, the court questioned why the Bush administration relied on one set of facts for 3 ½ years to justify holding Padilla without charges and another set to convince a grand jury to indict Padilla last month. One of the judges said that the administration risked losing “creditability before the courts” by appearing to use the indictment to thwart an appeal of the ruling that gave Bush wide discretion to hold enemy combatants.
(Originally posted on Yahoo360)
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