WASHINGTON, Nov. 17 (UPI) -- The Justice Department has asked for quick action on a judge's order halting proceedings by a war crimes court in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
U.S. District Judge James Robertson ordered the Military Commission to stop hearings in the conspiracy case against Salim Hamdan, a former driver for Osama bin Laden.
The Justice Department contends the ruling will open a "Pandora's box" of questions about President Bush's power in the war against terror, The Miami Herald reported Wednesday.
Robertson ruled the framework for trying terror suspects is unconstitutional and more than 500 detainees at the Guantanamo detention center should be granted prisoner of war status.
Government attorneys appealed to the U.S. District Court of Appeals in Washington and asked for expedited action.
"Finding that those captured during armed conflict have judicially enforceable rights under the (Geneva) Convention opens a veritable Pandora's box," the motion said.
