Delaware asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday to review a lower court decision that stopped the state’s nationally important business court from overseeing private arbitrations, a process critics compared to secret trials.

The U.S. Court of Appeals in Philadelphia upheld in October a ruling that found the five judges on Delaware’s Court of Chancery had violated the U.S. Constitution by overseeing private arbitrations in their courtrooms.

All court filings and even the existence of the cases was secret.

“Because of the importance of this issue, and the job-creating potential for Delaware and the nation of finding innovative solutions to temper the growing costs and delays of resolving business disputes, a definitive answer is being sought from the Supreme Court concerning the constitutionality of the Delaware statute,” said a statement from Andrew Pincus, a Mayer Brown attorney hired by Delaware.

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