The case against Jose Padilla would be funny if a man's life hadn't been ruined in the process---but it has. The government's charges are so weak and riddled with inconsistencies it's a wonder the case wasn't thrown out years ago. The only thing keeping Padilla in jail is the 9-11 hysteria which still lingers throughout... Read More

Jose Padilla was arrested in June of 2002 at Chicago's O' Hare Airport and taken into custody. The Attorney General John Ashcroft made a dramatic appearance on national TV to announce the arrest, claiming that Padilla was a terrorist and was plotting to detonate a "dirty bomb" within the country. The fanfare surrounding the incident... Read More

In the three years that Jose Padilla has been locked away in solitary confinement, the government has been unable to cobble together enough evidence to even charge him with a crime. They have nothing on him, just the ever-changing claims of a Justice Dept that shows less respect for justice than it does for personal... Read More

I had to sit down when I heard the Padilla case had been settled. I literally felt sick to my stomach, like I was gasping for air. The case of Jose Padilla is quite simply the most important case in the history of the American judicial system. Hanging in the balance are all the fundamental... Read More

May 8 marked the third anniversary of the imprisonment of Jose Padilla. Padilla was apprehended at Chicago's O'Hare Airport in 2002 by Federal officers under the shaky "material witness" provision and trundled off to prison. In a conspicuous effort to poison public opinion, Attorney General John Ashcroft announced on national TV that Padilla was conspiring... Read More

It shouldn't surprise us that the Supreme Court has decided to take a case about the public displaying of the 10 Commandments, but refused to hear the case of Jose Padilla, the alleged "dirty bomber". On the one hand we have a hot-button cultural issue that is bound to divide the country along ideological lines.... Read More

By refusing to hear the Padilla case the Supreme Court condemned an innocent man to continued incarceration without any opportunity to challenge the terms of his detention. Their refusal serves as a de facto guilty verdict and overturns the long held principle of "guilty until proven innocent." Additionally, their ruling reinforces the muddled position of... Read More

Yesterday, the Ashcroft Dept of Justice made another contribution to its catalogue of government sanctioned demagoguery. An appearance by Deputy Attorney General James Comey at a press conference provided fresh allegations in the case of "dirty bomber" Jose Padilla. Ashcroft's assistant gave a lengthy dissertation on Padilla's criminal background and links with al Qaida, knowing... Read More

The presumption of innocence is foundational to any democratic form of government. Without that presumption, the state is free to exert whatever control it arbitrarily chooses in the incarceration or punishment of its citizens. This effectively destroys the firewall that safeguards the individual from the vagaries of government power and intrusiveness. It is absurd to... Read More