“The Police Department’s disciplinary process is completely secretive,” said Chris Dunn, a lawyer who filed the suit for the civil liberties union. “Our lawsuit is designed to the give the public a window into what’s happening to police officers accused of abusing or mistreating civilians. Right now, nobody knows what happens, and that makes police accountability impossible.”

The Police Department initially denied the civil liberties union’s request, citing Section 50-a and saying that the trial room documents, if made public, could expose its officers to harm.

The department eventually agreed to release some documents pertaining to the disposition of the trials, albeit with the officers’ names redacted to preserve their anonymity. But police officials have still refused to release the written decisions in the trials.

“We have stated our position numerous times,” a police spokesman said. “An individual’s discipline history is covered under New York Civil Rights Law 50-a.”

The case now rests in the First Judicial Department appeals court in Manhattan, which held a hearing on the issue in December and could render a decision within weeks.

Ten news media organizations, including The New York Times, have joined the civil liberties union’s appeal, arguing in court papers that withholding trial room documents “would deprive journalists of information needed to accurately report on discipline imposed by N.Y.P.D. and to hold it accountable to the public it serves” — especially at a time when “public confidence in the police is at extraordinarily low levels.”

The second suit, which is before the same court, seeks the release of the disciplinary records of one particular officer: Daniel Pantaleo, who placed Eric Garner in a chokehold moments before he died on a Staten Island sidewalk in 2014. In court papers, lawyers for the city and for Officer Pantaleo argued again that releasing the records could expose the officer to abuse or retaliation.