Court rules against govt in Padilla case
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.
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