WASHINGTON - A federal judge on Thursday refused to halt Monday's scheduled military trial for Osama bin Laden's suspected driver, ruling that he could not intervene in the military justice process established by Congress.

U.S. District Judge James Robertson ruled from the bench in a motion brought by attorneys for Salim Ahmed Hamdan, who were seeking a preliminary injunction to halt Hamdan's upcoming military commission in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. They are seeking time to contest both his detention and the legality of the military trial in a federal court.

Referring to a recent appeals court decision in the case of another detainee, Robertson said Hamdan's legal issues should be raised in the federal court system after the military commission process has concluded. He said Congress and the president determined in a 2006 law on the detainees that such an approach was the best way to handle these matters.

"This court should be wary about disturbing their judgment," Robertson said.

Lawyers for Hamdan said they hadn't decided how to proceed.

Justice Department lawyers had argued that Robertson did not have jurisdiction to intervene and that the appeals process established by Congress should be allowed to play out first.

It is not the first time Robertson has ruled in the lawsuit brought by Hamdan. In 2004, the judge found that the military commissions established by President Bush were unlawful. The Supreme Court backed that ruling in 2006, forcing Congress to pass the Military Commissions Act to establish a process that would afford the detainees more legal protections.

After the law was enacted, Roberston ruled against another challenge by Hamdan, determining that Congress had removed his jurisdiction to hear such matters.

On Thursday, he said that "Hamdan is to face the military commission designed by Congress acting on guidelines handed down by the Supreme Court."

The Supreme Court ruled last month that detainees have the right to challenge their detentions in federal court. But it did not resolve how judges should handle cases whose military proceedings are approaching.

Robertson's decision came as pretrial motions in Hamdan's case resumed Thursday at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo. Lawyers are arguing a series of issues that will determine, among other things, whether allegedly incriminating statements Hamdan made to interrogators will be admitted into evidence.