After 3 1/2 years in prison, Jose Padilla has been charged with a crime. Civilian authorities arrested the former Chicago gang member and US citizen on May 8, 2002 upon his arrival in the United States at the Chicago O’Hare Airport. Shortly after Padilla’s arrest, President George W. Bush declared him an “enemy combatant,” a title usually reserved for soldiers captured on the battlefield.

After transferring him to Charleston Consolidated Naval Brig in Charleston, S.C., authorities detained Padilla in military custody for 3 1/2 years without charging him. This case is one of several that are being looked at to set precedent concerning the scope of the president’s power to determine who can be considered an enemy combatant.

Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld spoke of Padilla at a Department of Defense news briefing on June 11, 2002 – three days after his arrest.

“He is an individual who unquestionably was involved in terrorist activities against the United States, and he will be held by the United States government though the Department of Defense and be questioned,” said Rumsfeld. “We are not interested in trying him at the moment; we are not interested in punishing him at the moment. We are interested in finding out what he knows.”

In November 2005, more than three years later, the Supreme Court ruled that Padilla could be turned over to civilian custody. He was transferred because “he is a US citizen, and under the US constitution he has a right to have access to the courts,” said Robert Duncan, Assistant Professor of Political Science. “The wheels of justice turn slowly.”

On Jan. 12, 2006, after transferring Padilla to civilian authority, a federal grand jury indicted him on counts that he provided material support to terrorists and trained overseas to become a terrorist operative. The United States government presented evidence that Padilla had filled out an application to join Al-Qaeda. The application contained Padilla’s birth date and his adopted Muslim name. Padilla allegedly received training in a terrorist camp and designed a plot to detonate a dirty bomb in the U.S.

Michael Caruso, Padilla’s attorney, said in court that Padilla “pleads absolutely not guilty to the charges contained in the indictment.” Padilla was denied bail because he was considered a flight risk. A trial date is set for Sept. 9.

These allegations are based on some 200,000 intercepted international phone calls, 5,000 of which are considered important to the case. Since 9/11 the National Security Administration has been intercepting international phone calls illegally with permission from the current administration.

If authorities collected the evidence against Padilla using illegal methods, this case could set further precedents and raise questions regarding the power the U.S. federal government holds in wartime to monitor its citizens.