Legal Commentary

Jose Padilla's Torture Suit Dismissed

By Jeralyn

A federal judge has dismissed Jose Padilla's torture lawsuit against Donald Rumsfeld and Robert Gates saying he has no right to sue for money damages.

The ACLU says:

The court today held that Donald Rumsfeld is above the law and Jose Padilla is beneath it. But if the law does not protect Jose Padilla, it protects none of us, and the executive branch can simply label citizens enemies of the state and strip them of all rights — including the absolute right not to be tortured. If Jose Padilla is not allowed his day in court, nothing will prevent future administrations from engaging in similar abuses.

Jose Padilla is an American citizen. He was arrested on American soil. He is serving his 17 year sentence, imposed by a federal court, at Supermax in Colorado. The decision is here. [More...]

Therefore, to the extent that a viable cause of action were found to exist under the Constitution, the Court finds that all defendants are entitled to qualified immunity on all issues relating to Padilla's designation and detention as an enemy combatant.

And, even if his allegations of torture are true, they may not really be torture, and even if they are, the officials are entitled to qualified immunity:

Taking the allegations of the Plaintiffs' Complaint as true for purposes of this motion, the Court finds that it was not clearly established at the time of his designation and detention that Padilla's treatment as an enemy combatant, including his interrogations, was a violation of law. Therefore, to the extent a viable claim under the Constitution were found to exist, the Court finds that the defendants are entitled to qualified immunity regarding all claims of alleged constitutional violations arising out of Padilla's detention as an enemy combatant.

Putting the final nail in the coffin, the Court says:

This conclusion appears to the Court to be particularly appropriate where the original detention decision was a direct order of the President of the United States, who is entitled to absolute executive immunity; the challenged interrogation methods were sanctioned at the time by the United States Department of Justice, which has sovereign immunity; and the enemy combatant designation was ultimately approved by Article III judges, who have absolute judicial immunity.

A truly bad decision.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on February 19, 2011 (boomark / email).