Court Rules U.S. Can Indefinitely Detain Citizens

Court Rules U.S. Can Indefinitely Detain Citizens
Ruling Comes in the Case of 'Enemy Combatant' Jose Padilla

By Jerry Markon
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, September 9, 2005; 10:39 AM

A federal appeals court ruled today that the president
can indefinitely detain a U.S. citizen captured on
U.S. soil in the absence of criminal charges, holding
that such authority is vital to protect the nation
from terrorist attacks.

The decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th
Circuit came in the case of Jose Padilla, a former
Chicago gang member who was arrested in Chicago in
2002 and designated an "enemy combatant" by President
Bush. The government contends that Padilla trained at
al Qaeda camps and was planning to blow up apartment
buildings in the United States.

Padilla, a U.S. citizen, has been held without trial
in a U.S. naval brig for more than three years, and
his case triggered a legal battle with vast
implications for civil liberties and the fight against
terrorism.

Attorneys for Padilla and a host of civil liberties
organizations blasted the detention as illegal and
said it could lead to the military being allowed to
hold anyone, from protesters to people who check out
what the government considers the wrong books from the
library.

Federal prosecutors asserted that Bush not only had
the authority to order Padilla's detention but that
such power is essential to preventing attacks. In its
ruling today, the 4th Circuit overturned a lower court
and came down squarely on the government's side.

A congressional resolution after the Sept. 11, 2001,
terrorist attacks "provided the President all powers
necessary and appropriate to protect American citizens
from terrorist attacks by those who attacked the
United States on Sept. 11,'' the decision said. "Those
powers include the power to detain identified and
committed enemies such as Padilla, who associated with
al Qaeda and the Taliban regime, who took up arms
against this Nation in its war against these enemies,
and who entered the United States for the avowed
purpose of further prosecuting that war by attacking
American citizens.''

The decision by a three-judge panel was written by
Judge J. Michael Luttig, who sources have said is
under consideration by President Bush for nomination
to the U.S. Supreme Court.
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Court Rules US Can Indefinitely Detain Citizens
Washington Post, United States - Sep 9, 2005
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Roberts & the 'Apex of Presidential Power'
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http://www.consortiumnews.com/2005/090605.html