On the Padilla case, the court moved from the merely dysfunctional to the vaguely dishonest, sidestepping its responsibility to deal with a citizen who was arrested in the United States, declared to be an enemy combatant and therefore denied contact with counsel or the courts. The conservative wing, preventing a third defeat for Bush, refused to rule, citing the fact that Padilla sued Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld when he should have sued Navy Cmdr. Melanie Marr, who runs the brig where he is being held. The court ignored the fact that Marr is under Rumsfeld's authority and that the government has moved Padilla from one form of custody to another, like a presidential plaything.

It also ignored the fact that in deciding a case involving Vice President Dick Cheney last week, it swept aside technical flaws in the appeal in order to bar the release of information on the effect of lobbyists on Cheney's energy policy task force.

Padilla is rotting away in jail, but the court essentially said, "What's the hurry?" Padilla will have to refile his case despite the fact that the same Justice Department attorneys will make the same arguments on the merits — after the election.

The outcome Monday may be the ultimate testament to founding father James Madison, who said he wanted to design a system that would work even if it were run by less than angelic beings. But that whooshing sound heard round the country this week should concentrate our minds not just on the Constitution but on our constitutional mortality.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-turley29jun29,1,7504801.story?coll=la-news-comment-opinions