Court Rules U.S. Can Indefinitely Detain Citizens in Wartime

Watch for an expansion of who can be considered an "enemy combatant"--Dictynna.

Clarification to This Article
A previous online version of this story did not specify that the court ruling applied only during wartime. That has been changed in this version.

Ruling Comes in the Case of 'Enemy Combatant' Jose Padilla

By Jerry Markon

Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, September 9, 2005; 5:45 PM

A federal appeals court ruled today that the president can indefinitely detain a U.S. citizen captured on U.S. soil in the absence of criminal charges, holding that such authority is vital during wartime to protect the nation from terrorist attacks.

The decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit came in the case of Jose Padilla, a former Chicago gang member who was arrested in Chicago in 2002 and designated an "enemy combatant" by President Bush. The government contends that Padilla trained at al Qaeda camps and was planning to blow up apartment buildings in the United States.