Pentagon Allows Padilla to See Lawyer

[jpak]

Pentagon Allows Padilla to See Lawyer

http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/nat-gen/2004/feb/11/021103385.html

An American citizen held incommunicado by the military for more than a year as an alleged al-Qaida supporter will be allowed to see a lawyer, the Pentagon said Wednesday.

Jose Padilla, who the government says plotted to detonate a radioactive dirty bomb in the United States, is being held at a U.S. Navy brig in Charleston, S.C. No meeting has been scheduled.

In a statement, the Pentagon said it had determined that providing Padilla access to an attorney would not compromise national security or interfere with efforts to use him as an intelligence source.

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[proud patriot]

1. It's about damn time

:grr:

[SemperEadem]

2. is that with or without the room being bugged?

[FormerOstrich]

3. This case pisses me off more than all the other atrocities...

This is an American citizen arrested in the United States. How many Chicago gang members would you recruit to work on a nuclear device? Regardless, the fact that he had been detained without being allowed to consult with an attorney should have every American citizen outraged. by the by wasn't this arrest well over two years ago (versus the "more than a year" reported)?

The pentagon isn't "allowing" this, they are getting overruled on this. I am angry!

Still, the Pentagon maintained it was not required to let him speak with a lawyer.

"Such access is not required by domestic or international law and should not be treated as a precedent," the statement said.

Padilla's attorneys have challenged the government's right to hold him indefinitely, without charges or trial, as a violation of his rights as a U.S. citizen. The government, meanwhile, calls him an enemy combatant who can be held for the duration of the war on terrorism.

The Bush administration lost the case in federal court and wants the Supreme Court to step in. In December, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in a 2-1 ruling, ordered Padilla released from military custody unless the government charges him. That ruling is on hold while the Supreme Court considers taking the case. A decision may come as early as this month.

The Bush administration also argues that it may keep such prisoners incommunicado, without access to lawyers or other outsiders. Even so, the government recently allowed a lawyer to visit Yaser Esam Hamdi, another American citizen held in South Carolina

[Just Me]

7. I should have read through these posts and the article before posting,

,...my post below. I knew I remembered a court having already ruled that the "enemy combatant" status was unconstitutional. Yet, the Pentagon is acting like is has the authority to set "precedent" by stating that their "award" of access to an attorney is NOT required by any law!!! What an arrogant lot of butt-wipes!!! Just who the hell do they think they are!!!!

[Emboldened Chimp]

4. The scary part is...

it's the military making the decision, not the judicial branch. Frightenting.

[Ediacara]

5. kick

:kick:

[Just Me]

6. My memory must be fading,...I thought a federal court ruled,...

,...that the "enemy combatant" status being used by the feds to suspend constitutional guarantees for an American citizen was/is unconstitutional. Am I wrong? This article makes it look as if the Pentagon is doing Padilla a freakin' favor when it violated his rights as a U.S. citizen!!!!

[number6]

8. yes, about time

hope this chips away at Bushes creeping police state.

[Lizz612]

9. I hope he's okay

I mean whether or not he actually did what he's accused of, he's an American citizen, he must know that he should have seen a lawyer before now. That would have made me unbelievably depressed, and frankly I worry about his physical health.