Judge Questions Padilla’s Cooperation

02/28/2007

MIAMI (AP) - A federal judge who must decide whether alleged al-Qaida operative Jose Padilla is mentally fit for trial said Wednesday that the former Chicago gang member hasn't behaved strangely but may not be cooperating with his attorneys.

"I think everyone would agree that Mr. Padilla is almost polite to a fault," U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke said on the fourth and final day of competency hearings.

Cooke said that one psychologist had found Padilla "gracious," and she said he had not demonstrated any odd behavior or outbursts in the courtroom or while in custody.

But she also questioned prosecutors about defense lawyers' claims that the 36-year-old U.S. citizen had refused to discuss many aspects of his case. Defense attorneys say Padilla suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder stemming from isolation and interrogation during 3 1/2 years as an enemy combatant at a Navy brig.

"By refusing to discuss vast sections of his case - is that not in and of itself an inability to assist counsel?" Cooke asked.

Assistant U.S. Attorney John Shipley insisted there is ample evidence that Padilla has been assisting in his own defense and suggested that "al-Qaida training" was behind his choice not to cooperate on certain issues. Prosecutors contend that Padilla, a Muslim convert, attended an al-Qaida camp in Afghanistan that included indoctrination on resistance if captured.

"That is a decision made by this defendant. That doesn't mean he's incompetent," Shipley said. "The issue is whether the defendant has the capacity to assist."

Anthony Natale, one of Padilla's four court-appointed lawyers, urged Cooke to find Padilla legally incompetent to stand trial and send him to a mental health facility for at least three months. "It is better for this court to afford him an opportunity to get competent, to go to a facility where he can get treated," Natale said.

Cooke did not immediately rule.

Padilla's trial is set to begin April 16.

A psychiatrist and a psychologist hired by the defense concluded that Padilla suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder that impairs his ability to assist lawyers. A court-appointed psychologist who works for the U.S. Bureau of Prisons rejected that diagnosis and determined that Padilla is competent, even if he has some anxiety and anti-social personality problems.

Prosecutors persuaded Cooke to sharply limit testimony by officials from the brig in Charleston, S.C., about Padilla's treatment there, arguing that her decision should focus on Padilla's current ability to understand legal proceedings and assist his defense team.

Padilla claims he was tortured and mistreated at the brig, a claim vehemently denied by U.S. officials.

If Cooke finds Padilla incompetent, she has several options, according to legal experts. Among them would be sending him to a mental institution for treatment - possibly at a secure military base - or have him treated at the downtown Miami prison where he is held in a special unit.

Padilla is charged with co-defendants Adham Amin Hassoun and Kifah Wael Jayyousi with being part of a North American terror support cell that provided money, recruits and supplies to Islamic extremist groups. They face life in prison if convicted.