Held until charged

The case of Jose Padilla is illustrative of the corrosive effect the Bush Administration is having on basic rights guaranteed by the Consitution. With the Supreme Court saying it is o.k. to transfer him to civilian custody, the Court may eventually consider whether Bush has violated the constituion, but has now essentially waived the right to habeas corpus. Padilla was detained in a military brig for 3 years without charges, but now he is being transferred to civilian custody and charged with different crimes then he was held for. This essentially allows the government to, in the name of national security, arrest people and hold them without charge until they find some evidence on which they can make charge and if they cannot, they will continue to illegally hold them.