The U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit in 2003 ruled that government's decision not to release the names of detainees was within an exception of the Freedom of Information (FOIA) Act. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held that prolonged detention in immigration cases was not unconstitutional; other federal courts upheld the NSEERS program. And while the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held that it was unconstitutional to close immigration hearings, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit reached the opposite conclusion and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to intervene to resolve the appellate courts' conflicting rulings.