Supreme Court Watch Part 2

High Court to Mull 'Enemy Combatant' Rule:

The Supreme Court agreed Friday to decide whether the
Constitution forbids the Bush administration from holding U.S. citizens
indefinitely and without access to lawyers or courts when they are
suspected of being "enemy combatants."
The justices will consider the case of Jose Padilla, an American
citizen, former Chicago gang member and convert to Islam who was
arrested in his home city after a trip to Pakistan. The government
alleges he was part of a plot to detonate a radiological "dirty bomb"
in the United States.
The Padilla case is a companion to another terrorism case the court was
already set to hear this spring. Together, the Yaser Esam Hamdi and
Padilla cases will allow the high court to take its most comprehensive
look so far at the constitutional and legal rights of Americans caught
up in the global war on terror.
Lawyers for both men claim their treatment is unconstitutional. Hearing
the cases together will simultaneously address the rights of U.S.
citizens captured abroad and at home.
At issue is the president's claim of authority to protect the nation
and pursue terrorists unfettered by many traditional legal obligations
- and outside previous precedents for government conduct in wartime.
The Supreme Court is expected to hear both cases in late April, with a
ruling due by summer.
[...]
The Padilla and Hamdi cases hit close to home for most Americans.
Padilla was arrested on U.S. soil, and the initial allegations against
him were aired in the civilian criminal court system. He was later
whisked to a military prison in South Carolina, where he was off-limits
to his lawyer or other outsiders for nearly two years.
Earlier this month, the Bush administration said Padilla could now see
his lawyers, although the government still contends it has no legal
obligation to allow such a meeting.

Posted by flow Frazao on February 20, 2004 at 01:41 PM | Permalink