In its second appeal Thursday, the Justice Department in an emergency motion said the federal courts are overstepping their authority.

“The Armed Forces are moving forward expeditiously to prepare for the repeal of (“Don’t Ask/ Don’t Tell) in a fashion that Congress and the President consider the most effective way possible, and consistent with the nation’s military needs,” said the appeal. “The (judicial) panel’s order cuts that process short and overrides the judgments of Congress and the President on a complex and important question of military policy.”