On June 9, 2002, as a federal judge stood ready to review whether the government had enough evidence to hold Joseph Padilla, President Bush signed an order declaring him an enemy combatant. He was taken to a naval brig in Charleston,South Carolina,
where he was held incommunicado for more than 2 years until recently being allowed to see his lawyer.<BR>

A federal appeals court in New York ruled in December that only Congress has the power to order the detention of an American citizen without charges and ordered that Padilla either be charged or released.<BR>
Padilla still sits in the brig today. His court appointed lawyer, after seeing him briefly said Padilla "looked about the same" as the last time she saw him in June 2002. This time he was shackled at the waist and kept behind a security window while a guard monitored the visit.<BR><BR>

What is wrong with this picture? Obviously the order issued by the court of appeals has not been obeyed, and the suspects lawyer client privelage has been violated without evenan attempt at subterfuge. This sends an ugly message to the world at large, and especially to the american people. It also places Mr. Bush in contempt of court. One might wonder why Padilla's court appointed lawywer has not pressed for enforcement of the existing court order. No charges have been entered against Padilla, and he has not been released. Habeus Corpus One of the cornerstones of common law has been violated, and this violation has been flaunted before the world. 

Chicago Tribune:

http://search.epnet.com/direct.asp?an=2W73314026641&db=nfh


Donna Newman and Andrew Patel