NACDL - Padilla v. Hanft

Padilla v. Hanft

NACDL amicus curiae brief in support of Jose Padilla's appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit on denial of his petition for a writ of habeas corpus.

Padilla v. Hanft

Brief Details

Case No.: 05-6396
Brief Filed: June 13, 2005
Jurisdiction: 4th Circuit Court of Appeals

Briefs

padilla_4th_amicus.pdf

Argument(s)

From the founding of our Country, military control over the civilian populace has been an anathema to our Constitutional system. The composite structure of the Constitution, to include the Bill of Rights, supports the basic concept of “civilian supremacy.” Absent a declared war or martial law, the military order of the President confining Jose Padilla -- a civilian U.S. citizen -- indefinitely in a military brig violates this basic principle....