Today, the Department of Justice finally charged Jose Padilla with an actual crime. Granted, he is not charged with anything the government had previously said he did or was planning. These charges have nothing to do with dirty bombs and gas fittings in apartment buildings. Let me make one thing perfectly clear about this. If you think that Mr. Padilla is a bad, bad, no-good evil man, this is a good thing, because the evidence will show that and not only will he be convicted and put in prison for the rest of his life, but the doubters will be silenced. On the other hand, if you think that these charges are over-rated if not outright absurd, this is a good thing because the evidence or lack thereof will result in his acquittal and release, to say nothing of shutting up the folks who think that the government wouldn’t possibly hold a man for 3 years without charges unless he was truly evil.
Any way you slice it, this is long overdue.
Let me make a few predictions about the trial. First, the Attorney General’s office will fight like crazy to keep this all behind closed doors on the grounds of national security. His attorneys — whom he will hopefully be allowed to see regularly now — will argue that any sensitive information he could possibly have is 3 years stale, and besides that pesky Sixth Amendment says he has a right to a jury trial. No matter who wins that particular battle of motions, I seriously doubt there will be cameras involved in the courtroom. In fact, there may be gag orders and all kinds of things pending the final outcome. What evidence is released to the public will be convoluted.
If he does get a jury trial, the exact charges notwithstanding, you can bet that nobody on that jury will be a scientist or have any involvement whatsoever with property management.
There is a possibility that this is nothing more than a delaying tactic. You may recall that the Supreme Court has been asked to consider whether the government should either charge him or release him. This move means the Supremes most likely won’t hear the case at all. Oh, and the trial isn’t expected to begin until next September. That’s almost a year from now, and that assumes that all the legal maneuvering beforehand goes smoothly. His trial might not begin before the 2006 elections.
Remember, if the government can hold a man for 3 years on nothing more than “trust us, he is a very bad man,” they can hold you or me or a member of your family on that same basis. The framers of the Constitution and Bill of Rights knew this; let us never forget it.