The government's override of an automatic stay of a services contract was set aside by the Court of Federal Claims because the rationale for the override decision was arbitrary, capricious, and an abuse of discretion. The underlying Government Accountability Office protest arose from a contract award for services involving seized, blocked, and forfeited personal property. After the protest was filed, the head of the contracting activity authorized an override of the automatic stay of contract performance imposed by the Competition in Contract Act (31 USC 3553). According to the Determination & Findings, the services were critical and the override was in the government's best interests because the contractor's resources were needed to handle seizures of potentially contaminated goods that might otherwise enter the stream of commerce, and to process seized weapons, explosives, and hazardous substances that impacted public safety. The D&F also asserted that, without the contractor's warehousing services, backlogs leading to mistrials in pending criminal and civil court cases could occur.