U.S. To Appeal Judge's Ruling To Release Padilla
Federal Judge Orders Enemy Combatant Released
POSTED: 4:57 pm EST February 28,
2005
UPDATED: 9:47 pm EST February 28,
2005
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SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- The Justice Department said Monday it will appeal a federal judge's order to the Bush administration to either charge a terrorism suspect with a crime or let him go. Jose Padilla has been jailed for two-and-a-half years. He was designated as an "enemy combatant" by the government when he was arrested.Earlier Monday, a South Carolina federal judge has ordered that Padilla, being held in a Navy brig in Charleston, should be released.
U.S. District Judge Henry F. Floyd ruled that the president of the United States does not have the authority to order Jose Padilla to be held.
Read: Judge Floyd's Decision
"If the law in its current state is found by the president to be insufficient to protect this country from terrorist plots, such as the one alleged here, then the president should prevail upon Congress to remedy the problem," he wrote.In the ruling, Floyd said that three court cases that the government used to make its claim did not sufficiently apply to Padilla's case.Floyd wrote that, in essence, "the detention of a United States citizen by the military is disallowed without explicit Congressional authorization."Floyd wrote that because the government had not provided any proof that the president has the power to hold Padilla, he must reject the government's claim of authority."To do otherwise would not only offend the rule of law and violate this country’s constitutional tradition, but it would also be a betrayal of this nation’s commitment to the separation of powers that safeguards our democratic values and individual liberties," he wrote."For the court to find for (the U.S. government) would also be to engage in judicial activism. This court sits to interpret the law as it is and not as the court might wish it to be. Pursuant to its interpretation, the court finds that the president has no power, neither express nor implied, neither constitutional nor statutory, to hold (Padilla) as an enemy combatant," Floyd wrote.As a result, Floyd ordered that Padilla be released within 45 days.The administration has said Padilla planned an attack with a "dirty bomb" radiological device. A lawyer representing defendants at the U.S. Naval base in Cuba calls the ruling a "significant blow" to the government.
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Read: Judge Floyd's Decision "If the law in its current state is found by the president to be insufficient to protect this country from terrorist plots, such as the one alleged here, then the president should prevail upon Congress to remedy the problem," he wrote.In the ruling, Floyd said that three court cases that the government used to make its claim did not sufficiently apply to Padilla's case.Floyd wrote that, in essence, "the detention of a United States citizen by the military is disallowed without explicit Congressional authorization."Floyd wrote that because the government had not provided any proof that the president has the power to hold Padilla, he must reject the government's claim of authority."To do otherwise would not only offend the rule of law and violate this country’s constitutional tradition, but it would also be a betrayal of this nation’s commitment to the separation of powers that safeguards our democratic values and individual liberties," he wrote."For the court to find for (the U.S. government) would also be to engage in judicial activism. This court sits to interpret the law as it is and not as the court might wish it to be. Pursuant to its interpretation, the court finds that the president has no power, neither express nor implied, neither constitutional nor statutory, to hold (Padilla) as an enemy combatant," Floyd wrote.As a result, Floyd ordered that Padilla be released within 45 days.The administration has said Padilla planned an attack with a "dirty bomb" radiological device. A lawyer representing defendants at the U.S. Naval base in Cuba calls the ruling a "significant blow" to the government.
Previous Stories:
- January 5, 2005: Attorneys Argue Case Over 'Enemy Combatant' Padilla
- June 1, 2004: U.S. Links Padilla, Man Sought For Terror Threat
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