A U.S. federal court has handed the government a stinging defeat in the terrorism case against Jose Padilla, a U.S. citizen held for more than three years in military detention as an enemy combatant.
He’s been held over three years without being put on trial, which is precisely the kind of governmental abuse of power that the neocons attack other countries for doing.
A Federal Appeals Court has denied a Justice Department request to transfer Jose Padilla from military detention to civilian custody to stand trial on criminal charges in Miami.
In writing Wednesday’s court’s decision, Judge Luttig, noted that the government left the "impression" that Jose Padilla may have been mistakenly detained these past three-and-a-half years and was now changing tactics to avoid further judicial review of the case, possibly by the U.S. Supreme Court.
A government with actual ethics would free Padilla immediately with an apology.