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Breakdown of Trust Led Judge Luttig To Clash With Bush
Wall Street Journal ^ | 5/11/06 | JESS BRAVIN and J. LYNN LUNSFORD

Posted on 05/11/2006 8:59:45 AM PDT by mathprof

After Fight in Terrorism Case, Conservative Star Gives Up Court Seat for Boeing Job.

On Nov. 22, U.S. Circuit Judge J. Michael Luttig was at work in his chambers here when he received a telephone call telling him to switch on the television. There, he saw Attorney General Alberto Gonzales announce that the government would file charges against Jose Padilla in a federal court -- treating the accused terrorist like a normal criminal suspect.

The judge was stunned. Two months earlier, he had written a landmark opinion saying the government could hold Mr. Padilla without charge in a military brig. (Read the opinion.1) The decision validated President Bush's claim that he could set aside Mr. Padilla's constitutional rights in the name of national security. The judge assumed the government had a compelling reason to consider the suspect an extraordinary threat. Now Mr. Gonzales wanted the courts to forget the whole case.

It didn't take long for the judge's anger to burst out into the open. The next month he wrote that moves such as the attorney general's cast doubt on the Bush administration's "credibility before the courts." Judge Luttig tried to block Mr. Padilla's transfer to civilian custody from the brig. (Read the opinion.2) The administration's top litigator fired back that the judge "defies both law and logic."

The clash, which underscores the increasing skepticism among even some conservative jurists toward the Bush administration's sweeping theories of executive power, culminated yesterday in Judge Luttig's resignation. The 51-year-old judge, once considered a likely Bush nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court, stepped down from his lifetime seat on the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to start a new career in Chicago as general counsel for Boeing Co.

(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...


TOPICS: Front Page News; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: 4thcircuit; federaljudge; getoffthebench; judge; judicialactivism; judicialarrogance; judicialnominees; lastdaysofamerica; luttig; nointegrity; scotus; scous
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To: justshutupandtakeit

LOL


61 posted on 05/11/2006 11:06:12 AM PDT by VaBthang4 ("He Who Watches Over Israel Will Neither Slumber Nor Sleep")
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To: Owen
This article is in direct conflict with the praise Luttig offered Bush, in extensive fashion, for Bush in his resignation comments.

Of course Luttig is going to issue a general statement praising Bush publicly. Doesn't mean that he respects Bush's decisions privately. Two different things.

62 posted on 05/11/2006 11:10:52 AM PDT by Extremely Extreme Extremist (FR's most controversial FReeper)
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To: McGavin999
What's wrong with this picture?

Just more "playa-hating" from the Bush groupies, that's all.

63 posted on 05/11/2006 11:12:48 AM PDT by Extremely Extreme Extremist (FR's most controversial FReeper)
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To: mathprof

I'm sure that money played a factor. How much does a federal judge make? $150,000?

He's going to work as the top lawyer for Boeing. He will probably make that much in a matter of weeks on the new job.


64 posted on 05/11/2006 11:22:03 AM PDT by Mr. Brightside (Watcher of the Skies)
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To: chris1
"I have yet to see the same chorus differ on anything with the WH whatsoever."

Hmmm...

I disagree with the WH on many things.

The difference between me and what seem to be a minority of narcissistic, dramaqueen, contrarian posters here...is that I do not live to express it or pretend that my disagreement somehow signals the final straw for all mankind.

Some of the bozos here...seemingly bent on finding some excuse to go little L mountain man, head for the hills and prepare for the final showdown...need to grow the hell up.

The routine is getting old for real.

Conservatism itself could descend from on high, take bodily form, run for office and a not so small coterie of the aforementioned bitter brigade would pick him apart like a school of old & bloated, armchaired pirhana.

65 posted on 05/11/2006 11:24:24 AM PDT by VaBthang4 ("He Who Watches Over Israel Will Neither Slumber Nor Sleep")
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To: puppypusher
The Bush Administration has truly lost its way

Hard to disagree with that statement

and its doing it for political expediency

Political expediency? Huh? His poll numbers are falling like a rock!

66 posted on 05/11/2006 11:32:04 AM PDT by You Dirty Rats (I Love Free Republic!!!)
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Comment #67 Removed by Moderator

To: GretchenM
"It is time to wake up and support those who are doing the best they know..."
The trouble is that if it is the best they know, then they do not know that much.
68 posted on 05/11/2006 11:56:14 AM PDT by GSlob
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To: mathprof
The judge assumed the government had a compelling reason to consider the suspect an extraordinary threat. Now Mr. Gonzales wanted the courts to forget the whole case.

I agree with Luttig here. Either Padilla was the 'dirty bomber' or not.

Now moving his case to federal courts to face different charges shows that the 'dirty bombing' charge was dubious.

The US citizens was deprived of his freedom for over 4 years without being charged with a crime.

69 posted on 05/11/2006 11:56:44 AM PDT by george wythe
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To: MNJohnnie
As a high caliber attorney [say, like Roberts had been before becoming a judge] Luttig would have been easily making 4-5 times more than his salary as a judge. So, if your argument holds, why has he been forcing oneself into straitened circumstances for 15 years? Thus your reasoning re his motivation is fellatious.
70 posted on 05/11/2006 12:02:34 PM PDT by GSlob
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To: mathprof
the clash, which underscores the increasing skepticism among even some conservative jurists toward the Bush administration's sweeping theories of executive power, culminated yesterday in Judge Luttig's resignation.

I don't have a subscription, so didn't read the entire article, but I'm having a problem with this. Luttig ruled in the administration's favor because he "assumed the government had a compelling reason to consider the suspect an extraordinary threat." So he did not rule based solely on the law, or on the theory of executive power, but on an assumption of a compelling reason.

Now, because the government changed its mind, he is outraged at the "Bush administration's sweeping theories of executive power."

Did it ever occur to Luttig that the "compelling reason" had more to do with keeping Padilla isolated, than with a military trial? Or that Luttig's ruling might have compelled Padilla to give the government the info it needed, in order to avoid a military tribunal, and that a deal was struck to try him in civilian court in exchange for the info?

Then, in a fit of anger, Luttig tried to block the transfer -- based on a bruised ego or on "his assumption of a compelling reason?"

I personally think any and all of these thugs -- Moussaoui included -- should be brought before a military tribunal, but I'm not privvy to what's going on behind the scenes, and I doubt that Luttig is either.

Too bad we can't return to the good old days when judges and politicians had the decency to wait until an administration was out of office, or a war was over,  to air their grievances. Instead, we have media true confessions on a daily basis.

I await the book. 

71 posted on 05/11/2006 12:09:49 PM PDT by browardchad
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To: MartiniKing

We need to build a bridge to toss all of these trolls under.


72 posted on 05/11/2006 12:12:43 PM PDT by Constantine XIII
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To: mathprof
This confirms my high opinion of Luttig and my rapidly falling opinion of Bush and Gonzales.

Ditto. If this stuff keeps coming out, Bush is going to be a president without a party.
73 posted on 05/11/2006 12:16:56 PM PDT by Antoninus (I will not vote for a liberal, regardless of party.)
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To: GretchenM
You do the conservative cause no justice to post such a remark as the one following the Luttig article.

Sounds like you are one of those who would admire the emperor's new clothes.

So sorry, but, wrong is wrong and ignoring wrong is wrong.

74 posted on 05/11/2006 12:18:52 PM PDT by rock58seg (Twin problems, a tin ear and a tin drum, establishes myths such as "ROP" and "guest worker".)
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To: Vision

There was no "headache" involved in quitting the bench. What did I miss?

Nor is it unusual for government employees and officials to quit after a long career the government work and multiple their incomes by a huge amount. Nor anything wrong with it.


75 posted on 05/11/2006 1:06:51 PM PDT by justshutupandtakeit (If you believe ANYTHING in the Treason Media you are a fool.)
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To: chris1

Not really most of the nonsensical posts come from the Perpetually Pissed Off, Third party quacks, the lunatic fringe of the lunatic fringe, the easily deluded and the willfully ignorant. Most of Bush's supporters come from none of those catagories.


76 posted on 05/11/2006 1:08:49 PM PDT by justshutupandtakeit (If you believe ANYTHING in the Treason Media you are a fool.)
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To: mathprof
Luttig is a dyed-in-the-wool conservative who would have made the perfect Supreme Court justice. I wonder if this was a way of making sure that he wasn't available when the time for the next appointment came.

This resignation is a disaster.
77 posted on 05/11/2006 1:09:02 PM PDT by Old_Mil (http://www.constitutionparty.org - Forging a Rebirth of Freedom.)
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To: chris1
So now Luttig is a hater too?

...yep, and Peggy Noonan, and Bill Buckley Sr., and... The list of "haters" is growing.
78 posted on 05/11/2006 1:12:24 PM PDT by Old_Mil (http://www.constitutionparty.org - Forging a Rebirth of Freedom.)
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To: Amos the Prophet

Those who try and govern from the extremes never succeed for long in the United States. Bush is not the President of the most far right 10% but the entire nation and must compromise with those elected by the other 90% of the nation. Whether we like it or not.

He was by far the most conservative candidate in two decades and barely squeaked through in getting elected. 59 million voted for an outright traitor in 2004. That seems to have escaped your consciousness.


79 posted on 05/11/2006 1:12:41 PM PDT by justshutupandtakeit (If you believe ANYTHING in the Treason Media you are a fool.)
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To: VaBthang4; Extremely Extreme Extremist

20% of FR says they are willing to throw it all in the toilet and let the Party of Treason get back up off its deathbed. This type of mentality would look at the score in the fourth quarter of a football game whine that the lead should be 28 pts rather than 14 pull the starting qb and put in a rookie.

We are not speaking of Brainiacs here.


80 posted on 05/11/2006 1:16:29 PM PDT by justshutupandtakeit (If you believe ANYTHING in the Treason Media you are a fool.)
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