by TChris

It's common for cases to be tried in the court of public opinion, but the trial that matters takes place in a courtroom. The government wants the court of public opinion to find Jose Padilla guilty, but doesn't want to present its evidence in a real court.

Deputy Attorney General James Comey on Tuesday ... presented his indictment of Padilla -- complete with vivid descriptions of terror plots Padilla failed to execute -- as part of a public relations blitz to justify holding Padilla and other American citizens as "enemy combatants" in the war on terrorism. Comey said intelligence during interrogations of Padilla and other suspected terrorists justifies the decision not to criminally charge Padilla, and proceed with a normal prosecution, after he was arrested two years ago at the Chicago airport.

Comey brags that the government's strategy succeeded in getting Padilla to talk, while a defendant who was charged and given a lawyer might have exercised his right to remain silent. It's a sad day when a prosecutor thinks justice is served by violating the Constitution.