Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler is asking the Maryland Court of Appeals to issue a stay of its order for Maryland law enforcement agencies to stop collecting DNA from people arrested for certain crimes so he can appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court, The Gazette reported.

In a 5-2 decision, the Maryland Court of Appeals overturned a home invasion rape conviction in the case of Alonzo King v. State of Maryland. The court's decision reversed the 2009 provision officials said helped them solve open investigations, according to Maryland law enforcement officials.

Public safety agencies across Maryland have been urging Gansler to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case. Montgomery County and local police departments have been up in arms over the ruling, saying it is a major setback to public safety.