Brooklyn-born Jose Padilla can pursue civil charges against former Office of Legal Counsel lawyer John Yoo for helping justify government actions that Padilla claims led to his torture, a judge has ruled. Read the NYT story here. Read the Bloomberg story here.
John Yoo (Berkeley)
Padilla is the convert to Islam who was arrested in 2002 on suspicion of plotting to detonate a radioactive “dirty bomb” in the U.S. He was convicted in 2007 of providing support to terrorism. But in between the two events, he spent more than three years in a Navy bring in Charleston, S.C., as an “enemy combatant.” During that time, Padilla claims he was subjected to unconstitutional physical and psychological abuse. The abuse was made possible by memos Yoo authored at the DOJ, such as one denying enemy combatants the protections of the Geneva Conventions, Padilla argues.
Jose Padilla
The order by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White of San Francisco late Friday could open the door to more actions attempting to hold government officials responsible for the abuse of detainees, the NYT writes. White, who was appointed by President George W. Bush, rejected all but one of Yoo’s immunity claims.
The Obama Justice Department is representing Yoo because he’s a former government official. (Fortunately for Yoo, Padilla seeks only $1 in damages and a declaration by the court that his treatment was unconstitutional. Otherwise the former deputy assistant attorney general might want to think about finding different representation.)
DOJ spokesman Charles Miller told the NYT: “We’re reviewing the decision.”
[...] Josh Gerstein notes on Politico, “Gergel’s decision is at odds with a 2009 ruling from another federal judge in a separate lawsuit Padilla brought against former Justice Department attorney John Yoo. That [...]