"The courts have intervened, as I understand it, and things are off for a
period until the courts sort through things," US Defence Secretary Donald
Rumsfeld said.
The Hicks case was scheduled to begin on Friday at the Guantanamo Bay naval base in Cuba.
Bryan Whitman, a Pentagon spokesman, said the government has not decided whether to appeal the ruling by US District Judge Colleen Kollar Kotelly.
"… The government will obviously review the rulings of the court and make its decision from there," he said.
Judge Kotelly ruled that the Hicks trial be suspended ahead of an anticipated
ruling by the US Supreme Court on the legality of the special military tribunals set up after the September 11, 2001 attacks.
Mr Whitman stressed that the ruling applied only to Hicks, but no dates have
been set for any other trials to start.
Judge Kotelly said the suspension would remain in effect "pending the issuance of a final and ultimate decision by the Supreme Court in that case."
The Supreme Court has said it would give a ruling in 2006 on the military trials, which have faced criticism at home and abroad.
David Hicks, 30, was the first of nine detainees to face trial by the special
military commissions, which have been condemned by civil legal groups and even many of the military lawyers defending the detainees.
A convert to Islam who was captured in Afghanistan in late 2001, Hicks faces charges of conspiracy to commit war crimes, attempted murder by an
unprivileged belligerent and aiding the enemy. He has denied the charges.
Hicks' lawyers filed a petition in federal court last week seeking a stay of his trial pending the Supreme Court ruling.
US Senate move
However in a move that drew condemnation from civil legal groups the US Senate has voted to curtail the rights of detainees at the Guantanamo camp to appeal their detention in US courts.
Under the proposal, detainees would only be able to go to a Washington federal court after they have been sentenced.
Howard responds to delay
The Australian government still wants terror suspect David Hicks to face a military trial as soon as possible despite fresh legal delays, Prime Minister John Howard said.
Mr Howard said that David Hicks's lawyers were responsible for the
latest delays.
"The latest delay is not the fault of the American government or the Australian government. The latest delay is a result of legal action taken by Mr Hicks's lawyers," he told reporters in Sydney.
Mr Howard said he spoke about Hicks with US Attorney-General Alberto Gonzales during his visit to Australia, and both countries wanted the matter resolved quickly.
"We had quite a lengthy discussion," he said. "I think we want it to be brought to trial in the military commission as soon as possible,” he said.