JURIST - Paper Chase: Federal appeals court delays Padilla transfer to DOJ custody

[JURIST] The US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit [official website] on Wednesday delayed the transfer of Jose Padilla [JURIST news archive] from a Navy brig in South Carolina to Justice Department custody until the court receives more information from the government and Padilla's lawyers. The 4th Circuit said that it needs more information before it orders the transfer because the indictment [PDF text] contained different allegations than those on which Padilla was originally detained. Padilla, a US citizen who was detained over three years ago for allegedly planning to detonate a radioactive "dirty bomb" in the US, was indicted [JURIST report] November 22 on 11 counts including conspiracy to murder US nationals and providing material support to terrorists. In September, the 4th Circuit denied Padilla's latest habeas appeal, ruling [PDF opinion; JURIST report] that the terror suspect could be detained without charges indefinitely. That decision has been appealed to the US Supreme Court [cert. petition, PDF; JURIST report], though the Court had not yet decided whether to hear the case. AP has more.

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