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Justice to appeal ruling on secret INS hearings

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Justice Department said Thursday it will appeal a ruling by a federal judge in New Jersey that immigration hearings for people detained after the September 11 terrorist attacks must be open to the media and public.

The department said it "will continue to defend the principle that the Constitution does not require immigration proceedings to be conducted in a way that provides valuable information to terrorist organizations or others who wish to harm Americans."

On Wednesday, U.S. District Court Judge John Bissell in Newark ruled that the Constitution prohibits the government's practice of closing immigration hearings for terrorism suspects it believes are of "special interest" in its investigation into the September 11 attacks.

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Bissell ruled that the government's concerns that an open hearing could potentially aid terrorists were outweighed by the First Amendment right of the press and public.

He also said the practice of closing hearings would cause "irreparable harm" to the rights of New Jersey news organizations that brought the case.

Federal courts in New York and Michigan and a state court in New Jersey have issued similar rulings, which are also being appealed by the Justice Department.

Bissell set a hearing for Monday on the Justice Department's request that he stay his ruling until the appeal can be heard.