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U.S. Supreme Court to Hear “Dirty Bomb” Suspect Case
The U.S. Supreme Court said Friday that it will consider whether suspected al-Qaeda operative Jose Padilla, a U.S. citizen who was arrested in 2002 on allegations that he was involved in a plot to detonate a “dirty bomb” within the United States, can remain imprisoned without being charged, according to USA Today (see GSN, Feb. 12). After being designated an “enemy combatant” in 2002, Padilla has been held at a U.S. Navy prison without being charged with a crime. In December, a federal appeals court ordered him released, but the Justice Department appealed the decision. On Friday, the Supreme Court announced that it agreed to hear the Justice Department’s appeal. The Supreme Court is expected to hear the case in late April and to issue a decision before it adjourns in late June, USA Today reported (Richard Willing, USA Today, Feb. 23). The Bush administration argues that Padilla can be held indefinitely under the president’s constitutional war powers, and a Sept. 18, 2001 congressional resolution. Attorney General John Ashcroft said the Supreme Court should reaffirm the designation of enemy combatants, while opponents argue that detentions without trials undermine American civil liberties. “Because the president said ‘I think you’re a bad man,’ he’s been in jail for two years,” said Andrew Patel, one of Padilla’s attorneys. “He hasn’t had a chance to defend himself. That’s not the way we do things in this country, when we’re at war or when we’re at peace,” Patel said (Gina Holland, Associated Press/Yahoo!News, Feb. 21).
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