The high court on Monday refused to hear an appeal from Evan Liberty, Donald Ball, Dustin Heard and Paul Slough.

 

A federal judge threw out the case, saying the Justice Department mishandled evidence and violated the guards' rights. 

But the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit reinstated the charges.

 

The court refused to reconsider that decision without comment.

 

Blackwater security contractors are accused of opening fire in a crowded Baghdad intersection in 2007. Seventeen people were killed and 20 others wounded. Prosecutors said the shooting was unprovoked.

 

North Carolina-based Blackwater renamed itself Xe Services after the shooting.