Anthony Wayne Crutcher Jr v. Commonwealth of Kentucky, 2015 SC 000620

Victim Ricky Goldsmith was robbed and shot in a breezeway; three men were involved: Jamaur Yocum, Anthony Crutcher Jr., and an individual nicknamed "SD." Yocum and Crutcher were later charged; Yocum pled guilty and testified against Crutcher.
Shortly after the incident Goldsmith identified Yocum from a six-photo lineup but initially could not identify Crutcher; Goldsmith left town out of fear.
Months later Officer Kyle Toms recontacted Goldsmith; after a relative told Goldsmith the shooter was called "Little Anthony," Goldsmith viewed a department-database photo array and identified Crutcher as the shooter.
At trial, the court cleared the courtroom for Goldsmith’s testimony after a bailiff reported threats to Goldsmith; defense counsel did not object to the closure.
Crutcher moved to suppress the out-of-court photo identification, arguing the lineup was impermissibly suggestive (principally because Crutcher had a lighter skin tone); the trial court denied the motion.
A jury convicted Crutcher of first-degree robbery and first-degree persistent felony offender; Crutcher appealed, arguing (1) denial of a public trial when spectators were removed and (2) the photo identification should have been suppressed.

Issue	Crutcher's Argument	Commonwealth's Argument	Held
Whether clearing the courtroom during the victim’s testimony violated the right to a public trial	The closure abridged his Sixth Amendment and Kentucky constitutional right to a public trial; reversal required	Crutcher waived the claim by failing to object at trial; any error not preserved/palpable	Waiver: Court held defendant waived public-trial claim by not objecting; affirmed conviction
Whether the out-of-court photo identification was impermissibly suggestive	The photo array was unduly suggestive because Crutcher had the lightest skin tone among men with dreadlocks	The lineup photos were sufficiently similar; differences were minor and not suggestive	No abuse of discretion: trial court didn’t err denying suppression

Waller v. Georgia, 467 U.S. 39 (establishes multi-factor test and requires findings to justify courtroom closure)
Johnson v. Sherry, 586 F.3d 439 (6th Cir. 2009) (right to public trial can be waived by failure to object)
Peretz v. United States, 501 U.S. 923 (1991) (failure to object to courtroom closing constitutes waiver)
McCleery v. Commonwealth, 410 S.W.3d 597 (Ky. 2013) (denial of right to public trial is a structural error)
Jacobsen v. Commonwealth, 376 S.W.3d 600 (Ky. 2012) (minor photo differences do not render a lineup impermissibly suggestive)
Grady v. Commonwealth, 325 S.W.3d 333 (Ky. 2010) (two-step analysis for out-of-court identifications: suggestiveness first, then reliability)