New Turn in ‘Dirty Bomb’ Case

A federal district judge in Manhattan ruled yesterday that the legality of President Bush’s designation of Jose Padilla as an enemy combatant may be appealed immediately to a higher court, even before the judge has ruled on the merits of a challenge to Mr. Padilla’s detention. The decision, by Judge Michael B. Mukasey, could put the dispute over the detention of Mr. Padilla on a faster track to resolution: an appellate court will now be able to review at once Judge Mukasey’s ruling that the president has the power to detain as an enemy combatant, until the end of hostilities against Al Qaeda, an American citizen captured in the United States. Judge Mukasey has also previously ruled that the government’s burden of proof in such cases is relatively low but that Mr. Padilla, suspected of plotting to detonate a radioactive bomb in the United States, should be able to meet with counsel under strictly controlled conditions in order to present facts rebutting the government’s accusations. Initially, the government sought an expedited appeal of the judge’s order giving Mr. Padilla’s lawyers access to him; the government argued that Mr. Padilla was undergoing extensive interrogation and that allowing the lawyers in could harm that process. Full Story