A federal judge has ruled that lawyers for detained "dirty bomb" suspect Jose Padilla can challenge his detention in court.

The ruling is a setback for the Government whose lawyers have been arguing that the Administration's decision to detain suspects as enemy combatants is not subject to judicial review.

The Judge, Michael Mukasey, did not reach the issue of whether Padilla is being detained lawfully, but the decision allows Padilla's defense counsel to seek his release and to meet with him at least until a decision is made.

The decision is a partial victory for the White House as well in that it holds ''The president ... has both constitutional and statutory authority to exercise the powers of commander in chief, including the power to detain unlawful combatants, and it matters not that Padilla is a United States citizen captured on United States soil.''

The full text of the decision is available here.