[JURIST] A federal appeals court heard oral arguments Wednesday on whether the government should be permitted to reinstate a charge against alleged terrorist Jose Padilla [BBC profile; JURIST news archive]. The charge, conspiracy to "murder, kidnap and maim persons in a foreign country," carries a maximum sentence of life in prison, unlike the other charges [JURIST report] now against him. In August, US District Judge Marcia Cooke dismissed the charge [JURIST report] as multiplicious, thus violating the Double Jeopardy Clause [LII backgrounder] of the Fifth Amendment. Federal prosecutors argued before the three-judge panel of the Eleventh Circuit that Cooke incorrectly applied the Double Jeopardy analysis.

Padilla, initially suspected of planning to set off a radioactive "dirty bomb" NRC factsheet] in the United States and long detained in a Charleston military brig as an "enemy combatant," was finally charged [JURIST report] in November 2005 on unrelated terrorism counts. He was transferred to civilian custody [JURIST report] in January of this year, when he pleaded not guilty [JURIST report]. His trial is scheduled to begin [JURIST report] January 22, but Cooke has said she will not resume trial until the Eleventh Circuit resolves the Double Jeopardy issue. AP has more.