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April 05, 2006
Supreme Court declines Padilla appeal
Sometimes the Supreme Court makes the biggest news over the cases it chooses not to take.
The court recently declined to hear an appeal brought by Jose Padilla, the former Taco Bell employee detained at O'Hare International Airport accused of plotting to employ a radiological weapon against the United States. According to the Trib story, the Court essentially said that the appeal is moot because the government altered charges against Padilla to allow Padilla to face trial in the federal court system.
The primary issue in the case, Savage points out, is over presidential powers to deny American citizens accused of terrorism-related crimes the full rights typically afforded criminal defendents in this trial. The question becomes one of tactics: will prosecutors move in similar fashion to avoid this direct issue's appearance on the Court's docket or are we likely to see a confrontation between civil libertarians and the administration in the coming months and years?
Posted by Christopher Kriva at April 5, 2006 01:57 PM
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