[JURIST] The US government urged the US Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals [official website] in court papers filed Friday to withdraw its September 9, 2005 opinion [PDF text; JURIST report] which denied the habeas petition of Jose Padilla [JURIST news archive], the American "dirty bomb" suspect, and allowed the government to hold Padilla indefinitely as an "enemy combatant" without charging him with a crime. The government argued that the case of Padilla's military custody is now moot, as he was indicted on 11 criminal counts [JURIST report; PDF text] by civil authorities in Florida on November 22. If the Fourth Circuit sets aside its September ruling, Padilla's pending appeal [PDF cert. petition; JURIST report] to the US Supreme Court may be rendered null and void because there would technically be no ruling to appeal. Reuters has more.