The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a decision last week calling for open immigration hearings in the case of Ann Arbor Muslim leader Rabih Haddad, who has been detained on a visa violation since last December .

"When the government begins closing doors, it selectively controls information rightfully belonging to the people. Selective information is misinformation," Judge Damon Keith wrote in a unanimous opinion that supported the April decision of U.S. District Court Judge Nancy Edmunds to open Haddad's hearings.

Haddad had three closed immigration hearings before a lawsuit was filed calling for open hearings in his case. Several Detroit newspapers, the Michigan chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union and U.S. Rep. John Conyers (D-Detroit) sued the federal government at the end of January.

"We decided since we couldn't get in we needed to seek a remedy for that," Free Press Managing Editor Carole Leigh Hutton said in January. "The justice system in this country was created to be open."

The government defended keeping the hearings closed based on a 19th century U.S. Supreme Court ruling that gave the government power to expel immigrants if the government felt they were "dangerous to its peace and security."

Last September, Chief Immigration Judge Michael Creppy sent a letter to all immigration judges calling for closure of immigration hearings that were of special interest and could threaten national security.

But ACLU Legal Director Michael Steinberg said the government does not have power over the actual hearings themselves.

"If Congress decides to limit immigration from a certain country, there is very little judges can do," Steinberg said. "In this case, we are not talking about a substantive immigration law. We are talking about whether hearings shall be open."

The three judges who presided over the case sided with the plaintiffs saying the government does not have control over court procedure, like closing hearings to the media.

"... The Supreme Court has repeatedly allowed for meaningful judicial review of non-substantive immigration laws where constitutional rights are involved," the decision stated. The government is undecided about whether they would appeal the decision, Justice Department spokeswoman Barbara Comstock said last week. "The Justice Department disagrees with the Court's conclusion that the department's guidelines for determining which proceedings should be closed are too broad," Comstock said. "The Justice Department has an obligation to exercise all available options to disrupt and prevent terrorism within the bounds of the Constitution and will review today's opinion in light of our duty to protect the American people."

Haddad, whose Global Relief Foundation charity is under investigation, has been in the custody of the Immigration and Naturalization Service since his arrest. In May, it was discovered that Nabil Sayadi, European director of Global Relief, was once acquainted with a personal aide to Osama bin Laden.

Despite alleged ties between bin Laden and Global Relief, Muslim Student Association Vice President Omar Khalil, an Engineering junior, said many in the Muslim community still believe Haddad is innocent.

Haddad was transferred back to the Monroe County Jail in June so he could be closer to his family.