December 21, 2005, Fun and Games with Unlawful Combatants
The saga of lone-U.S.-citizen-to-be-still-held-as-an-unlawful-combatant Jose Padilla took another turn as the same Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals that held "Constitution? WHAT Constitution?" last September in overturning a lower court's grant of habeas corpus has now rebuked the Bush Administration for its brazen attempt to evade Supreme Court review by transferring Padilla out of military custody.
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, in a decision by now spurned Supreme Court hopeful Michael Luttig noted the appearance of lawlessness, specifically, that the sudden transfer clearly designed to avoid Supreme Court review would make it look like Padilla had been arrested and held... by mistake. In short, the court felt that a decision (clearly) designed to evade Supreme Court review was a diss to it...
Well, well.
Will the fun never end?