The Defense Department's top lawyer, William Haynes II has recently ... been nominated to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, based in Richmond, Va. ...If the president is intent on stocking the federal courts with ideologues, Mr. Haynes meets that standard. <-- ! extended text ! --> William Haynes II has been an architect of some of the Bush administration's most unenlightened policies... The "enemy combatant" doctrine was developed on Mr. Haynes's watch, and it is one of the most dangerous legal developments in years. American citizens designated enemy combatants by the president can be held indefinitely without access to a lawyer. When Jose Padilla, an American captured on American soil, challenged the policy, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, based in New York, held that it exceeded the president's "constitutional authority." Mr. Haynes's trial experience is thin. He has tried only one case to a verdict... His record makes him unworthy of this important judgeship. <A HREF="http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/23/opinion/23TUE3.html?ei=5062&en=be974d20d8cae68c&ex=1080622800&partner=GOOGLE&pagewanted=print&position=" TARGET="_BLANK">excerpted</A> from The New York Times</A>

An Injudicious Nominee The Defense Department's top lawyer, William Haynes II has recently ... been nominated to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, based in Richmond, Va. ...If the president is intent on stocking the federal courts with ideologues, Mr. Haynes meets that standard. <-- ! extended text ! --> William Haynes II has been an architect of some of the Bush administration's most unenlightened policies... The "enemy combatant" doctrine was developed on Mr. Haynes's watch, and it is one of the most dangerous legal developments in years. American citizens designated enemy combatants by the president can be held indefinitely without access to a lawyer. When Jose Padilla, an American captured on American soil, challenged the policy, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, based in New York, held that it exceeded the president's "constitutional authority." Mr. Haynes's trial experience is thin. He has tried only one case to a verdict... His record makes him unworthy of this important judgeship. <A HREF="http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/23/opinion/23TUE3.html?ei=5062&en=be974d20d8cae68c&ex=1080622800&partner=GOOGLE&pagewanted=print&position=" TARGET="_BLANK">excerpted</A> from The New York Times</A>