Posted on 12/21/2005 2:06:48 PM PST by AntiGuv
WASHINGTON - In a sharp rebuke, a federal appeals court denied Wednesday a Bush administration request to transfer terrorism suspect Jose Padilla from military to civilian law enforcement custody.
The three-judge panel of the Richmond-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals also refused the administration's request to vacate a September ruling that gave President Bush wide authority to detain "enemy combatants" indefinitely without charges on U.S. soil.
The decision, written by Judge Michael Luttig, questioned why the administration used one set of facts before the court for 3 1/2 years to justify holding Padilla without charges but used another set to convince a grand jury in Florida to indict him last month.
Luttig said the administration has risked its "credibility before the courts" by appearing to use the indictment of Padilla to thwart an appeal of the appeals court's decision that gave the president wide berth in holding enemy combatants.
Padilla, a former Chicago gang member, was arrested in 2002 at Chicago's O'Hare Airport as he returned to the United States from Afghanistan. Justice and Defense Department officials alleged Padilla had come home to carry out an al-Qaida backed plot to blow up apartment buildings in New York, Washington or Florida.
in the end, Padilla will walk.
......................................
He'll walk right into a hail of bullets. But I don't think he'll walk...
he is presumed innocent only under civilian rules.
the US is also holding many top AQ operatives - are they "presumed innocent" also? should we extend civilian trials to them? are you drawing this line only because Padilla is a US citizen?
I only ask because I want to see how far your beliefs go - do they go as far as the ACLU, which basically says that any person held by the US anywhere in the world for any reason - deserves to receive US constitutional protections.
If Osama Bin Laden landed on a flight into OHare tommorrow night - would he be entitled to US constitutional rights?
What do you know? Nothing about this guy. Zero about the evidence. Simply assertions.
We held a guy for five months, cleared him, dropped in the middle of freaking Macedonia with no ID and no money. WHOOPS, just got it wrong, my bad. We've got some Chinese guys down at Gitmo that we ADMIT have done nothing wrong (they, too, went to Pakistan, btw). We're still holding them, because we don't know what to do with them, but they've been there for YEARS, and we have no reason why - none. And we admit that.
We've done a lot in a hurry, out of fear. And we've made some mistakes. And we aren't real good at correcting them. Admitting that Padilla was just a low-level thug - not out of the question - that they can't really tie to any plot would be extremely damaging.
Think back to whatever we were told about what Hamdi did. Where is he now? At home, in Saudi Arabia.
The court should consider a pay-per-view broadcast!
Yes.
what secrets are left? are you joking? the witnesses against him have been held in communicado in foreign prisons for years, and you ask "what secrets are left"? you want the ACLU deposing them?
IMHO, if you catch an American as a terrorist, just shoot him. Do NOT take him prisoner, just shoot. I trust our military FAR more than I'd ever trust our court system.
His words in a Hamdi ruling impressed me on his purpose:
"In all events, I believe that it is the obligation of this court to decide these issues that have been presented to us by the United States and by one of its citizens. At times, judicial avoidance of the difficult and the politically charged is the more prudent and the more faithful to the judicial role, both. This is a case in which it is neither."
Luttig's writing style is economic and slashing I think. Smart guy.
indeed, the civilian justice system is incapable of handling cases like this.
I would ask all the naysayers on this thread:
if Osama Bin Laden landed on a plane at OHare airport tomorrow night, would you give him a civilian trial? what would you do with him?
no, they won't escape. Padilla's defense lawyers will have access to them. you know, like in a regular trial. do you understand what that means?
I can tell you the first thing that will happen - every one of them will say that the evidence they gave about Padilla was coerced through US torture. And the ACLU will gladly release those depositions to the new york times the next day. and that's just for starters.
Personally, if I see him I'll shoot the sonuvabitch. I take 9/11 bpth persoanlly and seriously being a native New yorker.
If you want to back up your views with a press article (which doesn't do much for me unless they actually provide evidence of the allegations), then please send me one that doesn't require registration.
in what forum? what evidence do you have against OBL that he was responsible for 9-11? I am talking about real criminal evidence here, the kind of evidence that is presented at US criminal trials. the prosecutor can't just say "oh, we know he did it. give him death or life in prison".
After broadcasting for a few days exactly when it would happen.
I dunno. His admissions pretty much seal the deal, IMO.
it must be something with your browser cookies, it comes right up for me.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.