DURHAM -- It wasn't a military invasion, but it sure looked like one at N.C. Central University's law school Thursday when the U.S. Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals met in the school's moot courtroom to hear oral arguments.

In addition to three appellate judges, more than a dozen more sharply dressed military lawyers from all branches of the armed forces later shared a meal and engaged in spirited debate about military legal issues, chiefly the 250 or more detainees at Guantanamo Bay.

Much of the talk centered on the best method to try "Gitmo" detainees and how soon President-elect Barack Obama could close the controversial detention center. Some Obama supporters believe doing so quickly would signal a clear break from the policies of President Bush and help to improve the nation's standing around the world.

But Duke law professor Scott Silliman, executive director of the law school's Center on Law, Ethics and National Security, said those who think the detention center will be closed the day after Obama takes office don't understand the complex legal, political and logistical issues involved.

"Saying you're going to close Guantanamo Bay is one thing, but doing it is another," said Silliman, himself a former Air Force Judge Advocate.

Silliman believes it will take eight months to a year to close the center. He favors using the courts-martial system under the Uniformed Code of Military Justice as a baseline for crafting procedures and rules for prosecuting the 40 or 50 detainees at "Gitmo" charged with crimes.

"I think it would be an adequate system and an efficient system," he said.

While acknowledging that the "Gitmo" situation can be handled better, Capt. David Wagner, a Navy lawyer, said those fighting the war on terror did what they thought best at the time.

Wagner said the idea that people would strap on bombs and blow themselves up, or fly airplanes into a building "was never anticipated by the organization we built."

The appellate judges -- Chief Judge Col. James Wise, Judge Col. Gary Jackson and Judge Cheryl Thompson -- held Thursday's hearing at the law school as part of the armed forces "Project Outreach" program. It is part of a public awareness program to demonstrate the operation of a federal court of appeals and the military criminal justice system.

"The profession of law is quite vast and it extends beyond the classroom," said NCCU law school dean Raymond Pierce. "It's important for our students to receive exposure to the vastness of the profession."

The appellate judges heard an appeal from Staff Sgt. Lyle W. Oden, who was convicted of indecent liberties with a child and indecent exposure in 2006 after he masturbated in front of three teen-age girls.

Second-year law student Matt Reader, a Marine second lieutenant and aspiring military lawyer, found the session extremely useful.

"It was fantastic and we in the school owe our dean and the judges a big thanks," Reader said.