Above the law

Even though a federal judge ordered the Bush administration to allow Jose Padilla access to his lawyer over a month ago, they have yet to comply.

Mr. Padilla, an American citizen arrested on American soil, was labeled an "enemy combatant" and has been held in a Navy brig in South Carolina since June. Judge Michael Mukasey, of Federal District Court in Manhattan, ruled last month that Mr. Padilla should be allowed to meet with his lawyers. But the administration insists that Mr. Padilla is a "critical intelligence resource," and argues that its interrogation would be compromised if lawyers were allowed to speak with him. ["The Right to Council" NYT Editorial]

The right to counsel is guaranteed to all Americans by the sixth amendment to the Constitution - a part of the Bill of Rights - but the Bush administration seems to have decided that the Constitution isn't a binding law, but rather a list of suggestions that they aren't obligated to follow. Their refusal to comply with either the Constitution or a judicial order is perhaps one of the clearest signs yet that the administration considers itself to be entirely above the law.