CINCINNATI (AP) -- A skeptical federal appeals court has questioned whether the Nashville police chief's discretion over who to promote amounts to a discriminatory practice in a lawsuit brought by three white officers who claim they were improperly bypassed when seeking a higher rank.

The three-judge panel from the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday quizzed attorneys over the Metro Nashville Police Department's promotion system.

Judge Raymond Kethledge repeatedly asked the attorney for the officers how the promotions system amounted to discrimination, at one point saying the program in place appears to be "totally fine."

The court took up the sticky issue after a federal judge in Nashville dismissed a lawsuit in 2010.

Two of the officers sought promotion to lieutenant and a third sought a boost to sergeant in 2006