"The government’s arguments at the hearing sounded ridiculous and shameful."

That was the New York Times editorial in today's paper regarding the Jose Padilla competency hearing. Here's the conclusion:

Prosecutors said Mr. Padilla always seemed fine to his jailers, but it was his jailers who did things like standing on his bare feet with boots so they could shackle him. The brig psychologist testified that he had spoken to Mr. Padilla only twice, once when he was first detained, and two years later — through a slit in his cell door.

When a psychologist testified for the defense that Mr. Padilla was “an anxiety-ridden, broken individual,” the prosecution said her tests were invalid — because the jailers had kept Mr. Padilla handcuffed throughout.

We will probably never know if Mr. Padilla was a would-be terrorist. So far, this trial has been a reminder of how Mr. Bush’s policy on prisoners has compromised the judicial process. And it has confirmed the world’s suspicions of the United States’ stooping to the very behavior it once stood against.

Obviously there has been a ton of press on Judge Marcia Cooke's ruling yesterday saying Jose Padilla is competent. I'm not going to link to all of that here.

I'd bet that Padilla is actually happy that his lawyers lost the competency motion. I'm sure he did not want to go to a BOP mental hospital so that he could be made competent. To me, that sounds like torture -- just on a smaller scale. And I'm sure there were mixed feelings by the government about the ruling.

The Judge is still going to hear the motion to dismiss for outrageous government conduct. That is where things will get interesting.

Padilla competent

Judge Cooke ruled today that Jose Padilla is competent to stand trial after a 4 day hearing on the issue. She said that the decision regarding the defense's motion to dismiss for outrageous conduct is for another day. More to follow when I come up for air. Sorry.

Quick update on Padilla

I'm in trial, so not much time.... but here's the AP on the continuation of the Jose Padilla hearing today. Day 3 of the heairng tomorrow.

Julie Kay also reported today on an interesting wrongful shooting case against the Broward Sheriff's Office. Plaintiff's lawyers are Dave Kubillian and Lynn Overmann. Defense lawyer is Bruce Jolly.

Dedication Ceremony recap

It was a gorgeous day for the ceremony dedicating the new courthouse in honor of Wilkie D. Ferguson Jr.

The program included remarks from Chief Judge Zloch, Shenita Hunt, Rod Vereen, Larry Handfield, Tawnicia Ferguson Rowan, Kendrick Meek, Lincoln Diaz-Balart, Aaron Podhurst, Francisco Angones, George Knox, Lurita Doan, Donald Graham, Rosemary Barkett, George Knox (who read a letter from Bill Clinton), Thomasina Williams, Betty Ferguson, H.T. Smith, John Kozyak, and Father Kenneth Major. Yes, it was a long ceremony...

I had the pleasure of trying one case in front of Judge Ferguson. He was a great judge, smart, and a true gentleman. The speakers did a very nice job remembering him.

For (unintended) comic relief, Edwin Fielder -- the Regional Administrator for GSA -- introduced the speakers. I'm not exaggerating if I say that he only got 50% of the names correct. He was a disaster. Other than that, every thing went pretty smoothly.

The courtrooms and chambers are beautiful. Let's see if we can use them by the end of the year. That's the current over-under. Any takers?

Wilkie D. Ferguson Jr. Federal Courthouse

Today at 3PM will be the formal dedication ceremony of the new federal courthouse. As Julie Kay points out in the DBR, however, it is not set to open yet and there is no date for opening.

"Experts: Years of isolation made Padilla incompetent for trial"

That's the headline for the AP article. Here's the Sun-Sentinel coverage. The Herald's pre-hearing coverage is here.

My spies tell me that only two defense witnesses were heard from today. Apparently it was a very good day for the defense today, as expected. The exciting stuff -- the jailors' testimony -- isn't until next week. And because the Government is fighting that so hard, expect that to be a defense day as well. So, what's the judge going to do? Any thoughts?

Jose Padilla's competency hearing is today. I doubt that I'll be able to make it over to court, but it should be a fascinating hearing. I look forward to reading the reports. I will post any news as soon as I see it. If anyone is in the courtroom and wants to give an anonymous report, I'd be happy to post it.

Health care fraud

Julie Kay's Justice Watch analyzes Alex Acosta's "creative weapon in health care fraud" -- Operation Excise Equity, "a unique health care fraud initiative that targets Medicare crooks through civil channels and recoups funds directly from their banks." The Herald coverage is here.

Yesterday, commentors jumped on me for quoting a great scene in A Few Good Men. Well, here's another one: Col. Jessep: Take caution in your tone, Commander. I'm a fair guy, but this fucking heat is making me absolutely crazy.