A U.S. Appeals Court judge has temporarily stayed a lower court ruling that found a controversial terrorist detention law unconstitutional and could block the Obama administration from detaining some terrorism suspects indefinitely.
Second Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Raymond Lohier granted the federal government a temporary stay that stops the District Court injunction from taking hold until the appellate court hears the case, according to reports Tuesday.
The stay was issued after the Obama administration warned that the District Court’s injunction could have harmed detention practices in active conflicts such as Afghanistan.
U.S. District Court Judge Katherine Forrest ruled last week that some of the detention provisions in last year’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) were unconstitutional — and that the injunction applied to everyone, not just the plaintiffs in the case. The judge found problems with the law's vagueness for stating those who "substantially supported" al Qaeda or "associated forces" could be detained.