A federal appeals court in Washington on Monday temporarily stayed the release of sealed court papers in the government’s prosecution of a group of Blackwater security guards, giving the court more time to examine the dispute.

Judges Douglas Ginsburg, Karen LeCraft Henderson and Judith Rogers of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued a per curiam order that serves as an administrative stay blocking the planned Feb. 2 release of the sealed court papers.