The U.S. Supreme Court this afternoon allowed federal prosecutors to take custody of "enemy combatant" Jose Padilla so he could face criminal charges, overruling a lower court and ending an unusual battle between the executive and judicial branches.
In a one-page order, the justices authorized Padilla's transfer from a Navy brig to Justice Department custody. The order means that Padilla will likely now be taken before a federal judge in Miami, where he faces indictment on terrorism charges.
Padilla, a U.S. citizen arrested in Chicago in 2002, initially was accused of plotting to detonate a radiological dirty bomb and declared an enemy combatant. He has been held for more than three years in Defense Department custody without ever appearing in court to fight his detention. His case has triggered a heated battle over the extent of governmental powers to fight terrorism after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Padilla's status changed in late November when the government brought the criminal charges in Miami. The indictment never mentioned the alleged bomb plot or any attack in the United States. The changing rationale for Padilla's detention, in part, triggered an extraordinary rebuke last month from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit.
The Richmond-based court refused to authorize Padilla's transfer, suggesting that the government may have been trying to avoid a Supreme Court review of Padilla's military detention -- and that the entire detention may have been a mistake.Prosecutors responded by accusing the 4th Circuit of overstepping its bounds and infringing on President Bush's ability to run the war on terror. The legal battle was especially unusual because the 4th Circuit is considered the most conservative appellate court in the country, and it has sided with the Bush administration in other high-profile terrorism cases.
The Supreme Court settled the dispute today, saying only that the government's request to transfer Padilla -- which was presented to Chief Justice John G. Roberts and referred by him to the whole court -- had been granted. The court did not offer an explanation.
The court also said it would decide "in due course" whether to take up the issue of Padilla's original detention. Attorneys for Padilla are urging the court to review the matter, while the Justice Department says the issue is now moot because Padilla has been indicted in the criminal justice system.
Details here from the Washington Post.