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Court rules against govt in Padilla case
By James Vicini
12/21/05 WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In a stinging rebuke to the Bush
administration, a U.S. appeals court refused on Wednesday to
transfer "enemy combatant" Jose Padilla from U.S. military custody
to federal authorities in Florida until the Supreme Court considered
his case.
The court said bringing criminal charges against Padilla in Florida
after he had been held by the U.S. military for more than three
years created the appearance the government may be attempting to
avoid high court review of the case.
Padilla, an American citizen, was charged last month with being part
of a support cell providing money and recruits for militants
overseas. The Justice Department had accused Padilla after his
arrest in May 2002 of plotting to set off a radioactive "dirty
bomb."
The ruling came on a day the administration was struggling to get
the anti-terrorism Patriot Act reauthorized, and while it is under
fire in the U.S. Congress for President George W. Bush's secret
order allowing domestic eavesdropping.
The appeals court also rejected the government's request that it set
aside a ruling that allowed Padilla to be held as an enemy combatant
without being charged. Wiping out that ruling would have made it
virtually impossible for the Supreme Court to review the case.
The Bush administration, in bringing the criminal charges against
Padilla, maintained that his challenge to being held by the military
was moot and must be rejected by the Supreme Court.
The justices could decide as early as next month whether to hear his
case.
Though U.S. officials initially said Padilla had plotted with al
Qaeda to set off a radioactive "dirty bomb" in the United States and
then later said he had plotted to blow up apartment buildings using
natural gas. The criminal charges against him made no mention of
either accusation.
The government's actions "have left ... the impression that Padilla
may have been held for these years, even if justifiably, by mistake
-- an impression we would have thought the government could ill
afford to leave extant," Judge J. Michael Luttig wrote in the
ruling.
He said the government's actions could affect the public's
perception of the war on terrorism and the government's credibility
in the courts.
Luttig said the government left the impression that the principle
the president can detain enemy combatants who enter the United
States to carry out attacks "can, in the end, yield to expediency
with little or no cost to its conduct of the war against terror."
Luttig, a staunchly conservative judge who was considered but not
selected by Bush for the recent Supreme Court vacancies, said
Padilla's case presented an issue of sufficient national importance
to warrant high court consideration.
Donna Newman, one of Padilla's attorneys, said she hoped the ruling
provided an incentive for the Supreme Court to hear the case. "I
think it speaks loud and clear," she said.
Justice Department spokeswoman Tasia Scolinos expressed
disappointment. "The department is in the process of reviewing the
court's order and will continue to consider all options with respect
to pursuing the criminal charges as expeditiously as possible," she
said in a statement
Copyright Reuters
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