Padilla case on faster track
on Oct 7, 2005 at 3:16 pm
Lawyers for terrorist suspect Jose Padilla are moving their case on a faster track to the Supreme Court, bypassing any plea for additional review in the Fourth Circuit. In a brief order Friday, the Circuit Court agreed to issue immediately its formal order making final its Sept. 9 ruling against Padilla. His counsel had sought that on Monday.
In its decision last month, the Fourth Circuit ruled that the President’s authority to order the detention of suspected terrorists extended to seizures of U.S. citizens inside this country. Padilla was captured at O’Hare Airport in Chicago upon returning from Pakistan. The Supreme Court in 2004 had upheld such detentions of citizens when they had been captured overseas in a battle zone. The Fourth Circuit said the location of capture made no constitutional difference, so long as the suspect “took up arms against United States forces” in Afghanistan and was associated with “hostile forces.”
Padilla had until later this month to ask the Circuit Court to reconsider his case en banc, but his attorneys passed up that opportunity. With the issuance of the mandate Friday, they are free now to go directly to the Supreme Court. They have until early December to file their petition in Washington. But, since they appear to want to get the case acted on finally during the current Term, they probably will file the petition promptly.
(Thanks to Richard Samp of Washington Legal Foundation for the heads-up on the mandate order.)
