the supreme court will not hear the jose padilla appeal. at least not right now.
the padilla case is probably the most scary of all of the administration's decisions to detain people. padilla is a u.s. citizen, was detained in chicago (not afghanistan or the like), and was held without any rights for three years because the president labeled him an "unlawful combatant." the lengths the bush administration went to just to keep the high court from reviewing this case itself speaks volumes. they simply do not want the court to look into whether taking away all rights from a u.s. citizen within the u.s. can be justified under the constitution. even the normally compliant fourth circuit, widely viewed as the court most accommodating to the administration, soured on their shenanigans last december.
the supreme court's decision not to hear the appeal is disappointing. it means that any of us can be held for three years on nothing but the word of the president. the padilla case could still reach the supreme court again. after insisting for three years that prosecuting padilla in the regular criminal justice system would pose a grave threat to the survival of the republic, the bush administration decided to do just that to avoid the supreme court review. the tactic seems to have worked, but it also means that eventually padilla's criminal case could reach the court. but by then bush himself probably won't be in office anymore.
