EDITORIAL
Dirty justice won't nail dirty bomber

If you don't like the idea of accused dirty bomber Jose Padilla landing a "Get-Out-of-Jail-Free card," blame the U.S. Justice Department.

It declared Padilla an "enemy combatant" after he was seized in Chicago in an alleged plot to detonate a radioactive dirty bomb. He may have been guilty as sin, but denying an American national due process isn't the answer to the war on terrorism.

Padilla, who is accused of being an al-Qaida operative, has been held in a South Carolina naval brig for more than a year without criminal charges.

The Justice Department holds that "enemy combatants" can be detained without access to lawyers until U.S. authorities are satisfied they have disclosed everything they know about terrorist operations.

But a federal appeals court has ruled that the Bush administration does not have the authority to hold an American citizen detained on U.S. soil as an "enemy combatant" unless Congress authorizes it.

Though the court said the U.S. government must release Padilla from military custody within 30 days, Padilla could — and most likely should — be held as a material witness in connection with grand jury proceedings.

Naturally, we want authorities to catch suspected terrorists. But that doesn't mean Padilla should be denied the constitutional protections extended to other citizens.

Since May 2002, Padilla has not been allowed to speak to his lawyers or respond to the allegations against him.

What kind of a nation are we if the executive branch is given the unbridled power to lock up American nationals and deny them due process to defend themselves against the government's allegations?

Hopefully this ruling will serve as a reality check for the Bush administration as it attempts to democratize the globe.