Judge Luttig Slams Administration in Padilla Case

Wow. I had to post again. Talk about mainstream public figures stepping up to the plate. It's not just Clinton-appointed Judges who are outraged by the Administration's complete disregard for liberties and process. Judge J. Michael Luttig, who is thought to have been on the President's short list of Supreme Court nominees, today took the Administration to task for the facts surrounding the Padilla Supreme Court case.

According to the Washington Post:

The appeals court opinion reflected a tone of anger that is rare for a federal court addressing the United States government, particularly in a matter of presidential authority.

Luttig said the government's actions created the appearance "that the government may be attempting to avoid" Supreme Court review in a matter of "especial national importance."

He also suggested that the government's actions in the Padilla case may possibly have had negative consequences for "the public perception of the war on terror" and "also for the government's credibility before the courts in litigation ancillary to that war.

" . . . We cannot help but believe that those consequences have been underestimated" by the government, he added.

For "as the government must surely understand," it has left "the impression" that Padilla may have been held for these years "by mistake, an impression we would have thought the government could ill afford to leave extant."

Thank you, thank you, thank you Judge Luttig for stepping up to the plate. I hope all the news reports that mentioned that Judge Robertson was a Clinton appointee will reference Judge Luttig's conservative credentials.

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