Habeas Corpus Lives

U.S. District Judge Michael B. Mukasey says Jose Padilla has a right to contest his designation as an "enemy combatant" with the help of an attorney. Mukasey rejected the Bush administration's bold assertion that the president has the unilateral authority to indefinitely confine anyone accused of links to terrorism, with no formal charges and no opportunity for judicial review. That's the good news. The bad news may be that Mukasey is asking only for "some evidence" that Padilla qualifies as an enemy combatant. That's better than nothing, but perhaps not much.