Posted on 09/10/2005 9:35:37 AM PDT by OESY
A three-judge federal appeals court panel ruled unanimously on Friday that President Bush had the authority to detain as an enemy combatant an American citizen who fought United States forces on foreign soil.
The panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit... threw out a ruling... that Mr. Bush had overstepped his bounds by detaining Jose Padilla, a Chicago native, for three years....
In an opinion written by Judge J. Michael Luttig, who has been considered by President Bush for a nomination to the Supreme Court, the panel said Mr. Bush had the right to detain Mr. Padilla as an enemy combatant under the powers granted the president by Congress....
"The exceedingly important question before us is whether the president of the United States possesses the authority to detain militarily a citizen of this country who is closely associated with Al Qaeda, an entity with which the United States is at war," Judge Luttig wrote. "We conclude that the president does possess such authority," citing the Congressional authorization.
Joining Judge Luttig in the ruling were Judges M. Blane Michael and William B. Traxler Jr....
For one thing, the government no longer presents as the main charge against him that he had intended to set off a "dirty bomb"....
Government lawyers argued that the main new reason he should be detained as an enemy combatant was that he fought American forces in Afghanistan alongside Qaeda colleagues. Another difference is that all parties, even the Bush administration, appear to accept that Mr. Padilla is entitled to some kind of hearing at which he could contest the accusations against him....
[G]overnment lawyers tailored their most recent affidavits regarding Mr. Padilla's offenses to more closely resemble those attributed to Mr. Hamdi, notably fighting American forces in Afghanistan....
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Could this be expanded to pick up some locals,,like Jesse J and al S and maybe that crazy woman in Texas, Sheehan or whatever.
(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)
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