US court upholds enemy combatant's detention

[MrBadExample]

From here:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A federal appeals court ruled on Friday that U.S.President George W. Bush has the power to detain Jose Padilla, a U.S. citizen who has been held for more than three years as a suspected enemy combatant without any charges being brought against him.

"The exceedingly important question before us is whether the president of the United States possesses the authority to detain militarily a citizen of this country who is closely associated with al Qaeda," appeals court Judge J. Michael Luttig wrote for the three-judge panel.

"We conclude that the president does possess such authority," said Luttig, a conservative who has been under consideration by the Bush administration for a possible Supreme Court nomination.

Padilla, a former Chicago gang member and convert to Islam, initially was suspected by U.S. officials of plotting with al Qaeda to set off a radioactive "dirty bomb" in the United States.

[BlueEyedSon]

1. bye-bye US constitution & rule of law

[indepat]

9. Fuck the Constitution. fuck the rule of law: the people are Cheneyed

[Deep13]

2. I think the Reichstag is burning. nt

[Pachamama]

21. No, 9/11 was the Reichstag-Katrina/New Orleans is our KristallNacht & this

ruling is the sign of the danger ahead....Next is the GOP and Neo-cons using Congress in the next 30 days to get rid of Posse Comitatus Act. Then the coup is complete...

Goodbye America...without your Constitutional rights of protection against detention and the right to an attorney and being held without charges, it could be any of us in the future and we can become detainees, be "relocated" and held at a Gitmo and no one will ever be able to do anything about it.

:scared: :puke:

[fooj]

3. This is fucking horseshit.

:grr:

[jayfish]

4. Is al Qaeda Mentioned In The Constitution Somewhere.

Because if it isn't, I don't see how membership should have any bearing on a ruling of Constitutionality.

Jay

[BlueEyedSon]

5. Can this go to the supremes?

[asjr]

6. A political ruling, not a judicial one. Another BushCo crony

getting in on the act.

[Ready4Change]

8. Yes. Clearly Judge Luttig is bidding for a SCOTUS spot.

[xxqqqzme]

16. just what I thought...

his named just moved 2 the top of the list.


What was that quote of blivets** - 'just as long as I'm the dictator'!

[Ready4Change]

7. Unbelievable!

Blatantly, clearly unconstitutional. Has been for 3 years. And a Federal Court upholds it?

10 years ago, had an American citizen been held in a foreign jail for years without charges, people would have demanded we send in troops to get him out. Now look at us.


"Bye Bye Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy from the Levee, but the gas tank ran dry
And now they've killed the Constitution with lies
Singing 'Today the USA died.'"


I want my USA back NOW, damnit!

[REACTIVATED IN CT]

10. Bush Administration Wins Appeals Court Ruling on Padilla Case

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=aSCf164bIvnE&refer=us

Bush Administration Wins Appeals Court Ruling on Padilla Case
Sept. 9 (Bloomberg) -- The Bush administration can indefinitely detain a U.S. citizen it determines to be an enemy combatant in the war on terrorism, a federal appeals court ruled.

A three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia, ruled against Jose Padilla, a U.S. citizen and a Muslim convert. The administration said he took up arms against the U.S. in Afghanistan and was recruited by al-Qaeda to carry out terrorist attacks in the U.S. The president has the authority to detain such a person, the appeals court said, reversing a lower court's order.

``We conclude that the president does possess such authority pursuant to the Authorization for Use of Military Force Joint Resolution enacted by Congress in the wake of the attacks on the United States of Sept. 11, 2001,'' the three-judge panel said in an order posted on its Web site today.



To contact the reporter on this story:
Cary O'Reilly in U.S. District Court in Washington at [e-mail].

Last Updated: September 9, 2005 10:19 EDT

[shanti]

11. gulag time

:-(

[Vinnie From Indy]

12. Good Bye Madison...Hello Stalin!

[madrchsod]

13. say good bye to the magna charta

the king is now above the law. our supreme court will rule that we should not base our laws on what the furniners think....

[anarch]

15. not a big surprise, but disgusting

Coming soon: "President allowed to summarily execute whoever he feels like killing."

[Benhurst]

22. Actually, there is nothing preventing him doing so already.

The Leader is above the law. Woe to all who dare question him.

[Benhurst]

23. We should auction off the Constitution to the highest bidder.

It's a dead letter we no longer use. I'm sure the Japanese or Chinese would pay top Dollar (for what that's worth!) just to be able to display it in a museum.

Doing so would also free up money wasted on its display in Washington.

But we should keep The Declaration of Independence. We're going to be needing it in the near future.

[NYC Liberal]

32. Give it to the Iraqis

They're in need of one and we're not using it anyway.

[deminks]

14. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.

or so I have been told.

Richard Samp, general counsel of the Washington Legal Foundation, a conservative legal group that had supported the Bush administration in the case, hailed the ruling.

"The courts are ill-equipped to second-guess the president when, acting in his capacity as commander in chief, he makes decisions implicating sensitive matters of foreign policy, national security, or military affairs," Samp said.

[rayofreason]

17. US appeals court upholds Padilla detention

WASHINGTON (AFP) - A federal appeals court upheld the military detention of Jose Padilla, a US citizen suspected of plotting attacks in the United States, as an enemy combatant.

The ruling by the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit overturned a lower court ruling that found President George W. Bush's order to detain Padilla without charges unconstitutional.

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20050909/ts_alt_afp/usattacksjustice_050909164242


For those interested, the full text of the unanimous decision is at

http://pacer.ca4.uscourts.gov/opinion.pdf/056396.P.pdf

[Just Me]

18. Back up to SCOTUS, I guess.

Will it WACK the administration, again? :shrug:

[jody]

33. The two opposing decisions may improve acceptance by SCOTUS. n/t

[neverforget]

19. It's not like we've been using the Constitution for the last 225 years

Under Bush's fascist rule, Americans no longer have any rights because he says so. :mad: :puke: :wtf: :argh: :grr: :nuke: :scared: :banghead: I'm so god damn mad at this SOB!

[Pachamama]

20. I literally shuddered when they said this on NPR....

I keep asking my husband what America's KristallNacht is going to be...He said it just happened in New Orleans....and now this ruling...

I believe the time to go is coming soon.... :scared:

Goodbye my beloved America....without your Constitution, you are dead. :cry:

PS: Why does Judge Luttig's name sound familiar? Anyone know his other rulings or background?

[StopThief]

25. Luttig is a HUGE favorite of conservatives. . .

to be nominated to the Supreme Court.

[rayofreason]

30. Luttig..

..is a conservative judge often mentioned as a SCOTUS possibility. The other two judges on the court were appointed by Clinton.

[liberalpress]

24. Get out your copies of the Constitution...

... and draw a big black LINE through amendment number 6 (or VI)... it no longer applies.

[Maat]

26. What am I supposed to put on the bar exam ... if I have to take it ...

again?

You get 4th-, 5th- and 6th-Amendment protections unless Chimpy McSmirk decides you are an 'enemy combatant.'

This is disgusting! This recent law graduate is very, very sad right now.

:puke:

[struggle4progress]

27. Bye bye, right to a trial by jury. eom

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

28. All the better reason to make a stand against *s court appointments

[rayofreason]

31. appointments?

Clinton appointed the two other judges on this court. The decision was unanimous.

[TankLV]

29. I think we've finally found O'Connner's replacement!

Yesseree bob!

This one's got all the right qualifications.

Bat shit crazy, fuck the constitution crazy.

He goes to the head of the line!