The United States Supreme Court has held off on making a ruling regarding the powers of the president to declare a detainee an 'enemy combatant.'
The court voted 6-3 not to hear the case of Jose Padilla since his Padilla is no longer classified as an enemy combatant and is now being tried in a normal criminal court.
For three years, Padilla was held in a military brig in South Carolina without charge. He was given the status of 'enemy combatant' which limited his rights to a lawyer and to hear evidence against him. Once he was given enemy combatant status, Padilla was also not subject to the protections of the Geneva Accords and other international treaties.
Padilla was not charged with any crime until this past November, just before his appeal was due to be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court.
The government is now charging Padilla with belonging to a cell that provided money and helped recruit new members to terrorist organizations. Padilla has entered a not guilty plea.
The Bush administration had asked the Supreme Court to dismiss Padilla's appeal as moot since he was now being tried in a regular criminal court. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales made that claim in his papers and the majority of the court agreed with his position.
Justices David Souter, Stephen Breyer and Ruth Bader Ginsburg were in favor of hearing the appeal.
Justice Ginsburg wrote for the three justices that wanted to hear the case, saying, 'Nothing the government has yet done purports to retract the assertion of executive power Padilla protests. Although the government has recently lodged charges against Padilla in a civilian court, nothing prevents the executive from returning to the road it earlier constructed and defended,' she said.
One more vote was necessary if the case was to be argued before the Supreme Court on the merits. It will take several months before another case can make its way to the U.S. Supreme Court. In the meantime, the administration’s practice of declaring detainees as enemy combatants will continue.
