Arlington-based CACI Premier Technology asked the judge Wednesday to dismiss the lawsuit. The company, which supplied the Army with civilian interrogators, argued that the government's refusal to declassify key facts is making it impossible to defend itself.

U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema acknowledged CACI's frustration but said the lawsuit can move forward even though the government says certain facts like the identities of the interrogators are state secrets that can't be declassified.

The case is now slated to go to trial in April. While other pretrial matters remain unresolved, Brinkema told both sides that "you should expect if you don't settle this case, it'll go to trial."

The lawsuit, first filed in 2008, has previously been tossed out on multiple occasions, but each time the 4th U.S. Circuit of Appeals in Richmond has revived the case and ordered the district court to take a closer look. Brinkema said she has interpreted her mandate from the 4th Circuit as one that generally requires her to get the case in front of a jury.

The judge did say, though, that she expects to toss one of the four Iraqi plaintiffs from the case because his allegations of abuse largely occurred before CACI interrogators arrived in Iraq in late September 2003.