Mr. [Jose Padilla], an American citizen arrested on American soil, was labeled an ''enemy combatant'' and has been held in a Navy brig in South Carolina since June. Judge Michael Mukasey, of Federal District Court in Manhattan, ruled last month that Mr. Padilla should be allowed to meet with his lawyers. But the administration insists that Mr. Padilla is a ''critical intelligence resource,'' and argues that its interrogation would be compromised if lawyers were allowed to speak with him.

Copyright New York Times Company Jan 24, 2003

A federal judge in New York attacked the Bush administration recently for defying his order to allow Jose Padilla, who is accused of being part of a plot to set off a ''dirty bomb,'' to meet with a lawyer. In case after case, the administration has taken the position that if it accuses someone of being a terrorist, he can be prevented from communicating with a lawyer. The right to counsel is a cornerstone of the American legal system, and the administration must realize that it has not been repealed by the war on terrorism.

Mr. Padilla, an American citizen arrested on American soil, was labeled an ''enemy combatant'' and has been held in a Navy brig in South Carolina since June. Judge Michael Mukasey, of Federal District Court in Manhattan, ruled last month that Mr. Padilla should be allowed to meet with his lawyers. But the administration insists that Mr. Padilla is a ''critical intelligence resource,'' and argues that its interrogation would be compromised if lawyers were allowed to speak with him.

Mr. Padilla is not the only terrorism suspect being deprived of a lawyer. Yasser Esam Hamdi, the other American citizen who has been designated an enemy combatant, is similarly being held in a military brig without access to counsel. The administration deprived suspects of lawyers on a far greater scale during the roundups of suspected terrorists in the wake of Sept. 11, when hundreds of detainees were held in secret and denied access to lawyers and family members.

The administration is treating the right to counsel in these cases as an inconvenience and possible impediment to investigators. But under our system of law, all defendants, even alleged terrorists, are innocent until proven guilty. Without access to a lawyer, people thrown in prison on terrorism charges cannot protest their innocence, assert their constitutional right to a speedy trial or otherwise challenge their confinement.

It is always easier for law enforcement if defendants do not know their rights. But the Sixth Amendment provides that ''in all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right . . . to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.'' As the Supreme Court explained in the landmark case of Gideon v. Wainwright in 1963, the ''noble ideal'' of a fair trial cannot be achieved if a defendant has to face his accusers without access to a lawyer.

The Bush administration should let Mr. Padilla meet with his lawyer, and it should start respecting the right to counsel guaranteed by the Constitution.