On Monday, South Carolina judge Henry F. Floyd proved why America’s legal system, even with its many flaws, remains a source of hope and inspiration.

Two years ago, the government arrested Chicagoan Jose Padilla at O’Hare International Airport on suspicion that he was aiding al-Qaeda. According to CNN.com, Padilla, a former gangbanger and convict, was allegedly planning to detonate a “dirty bomb” in the United States.

The problem was, the government produced no evidence against Padilla. Instead, he was held without trial in military custody. The government insisted that Padilla – an American citizen – could be denied his Constitutional rights because he was an “enemy combatant,” and could be imprisoned without trial indefinitely.

That’s when our nation’s system of checks and balances came into play. Judge Henry Floyd ruled that the government had to charge Padilla in the next 45 days or release him. In doing so, Floyd delivered a rebuke to the Bush administration’s power grab, and reaffirmed the basic tenets of American law: that a suspect must be charged with a crime, that he be allowed to confront his accusers in open court and that he be allowed to examine the evidence against him.

Some people will attempt to spin this decision as a victory for the terrorists. Nothing could be further from the truth. By putting pressure on the government to produce evidence against Padilla, Judge Floyd – who was appointed by President Bush – upheld the very bedrock of our democracy: that we, as President John Adams once said, “are a nation of laws, not men.”

America was founded on the principle that no one is above the law, not even the president. By designating Padilla an “enemy combatant,” the government was trying to do an end-run around the Constitution, effectively saying the president can decide who is a terrorist and who isn’t. The dangerous thing about such an attitude is this: our judicial system’s interpretation of the law rests on precedent. That means if the government can strip Padilla of his Constitutional rights, they can do it to any of us.

In a society with class and racial divisions that many are reluctant to acknowledge, the last refuge of every American is that we are all equal in the eyes of the law. This principle, though imperfectly executed, is one of the great achievements of Western civilization. Americans should be proud to live under a system so great that we promise even repeat felons like Padilla the same Constitutional freedoms we would accord a model citizen.

And if we take the president at his word – that the terrorists hate us for our freedom – then abandoning our Constitution during one of the most trying times in our nation’s history would be the most traitorous thing we could possibly do.

Some people say that it’s a whole new world since 9/11 and we need to rethink some of our freedoms. I think a little perspective is in order here. The United States has weathered a revolution, a civil war, and two world wars. Although we have made mistakes along the way, we have always come back to the guiding principles of the Constitution. We will weather the storm of terrorism, too. But whether or not we will emerge from that conflict still in possession of the things that make us America will depend on our commitment to preserving our liberty.

Columns reflect the opinion of the author and not necessarily that of the Northern Star staff.