78 N.Y.2d 48 | NY | 1991
OPINION OF THE COURT
The right to a public trial (US Const 6th Amend; Civil Rights Law § 12; Judiciary Law § 4),
I
In May of 1988, an Onondaga County Grand Jury returned a five-count indictment against defendant, charging him with, among other crimes, rape in the first degree (Penal Law § 130.35 [1]), sexual abuse in the first degree (Penal Law § 130.65 [1]) and kidnapping in the second degree (Penal Law § 135.20). Each of these charges arose out of defendant’s alleged rape and abduction of a young woman from the Syracuse area.
At defendant’s trial, prior to the complainant testifying, the following colloquy took place between the presiding Judge and counsel:
"the court: Ms. Dougherty [prosecutor], it’s my understanding you’re going to make application to close the Court Room to the public during the testimony of the victim in this case, is that correct, ma’am?
"ms. dougherty: Yes, Your Honor.
"the court: And that’s as a result of her request to have that done?
"ms. dougherty: Yes, Your Honor, she has made that request, that she would ask the Court to keep the Court Room closed because of the nature of her testimony.
"the court: Mr. Cognetti [defense counsel]?
"mr cognetti: I would oppose that, Judge. * * *
"the court: I’m going to close the Court Room down.”
Defendant was subsequently convicted of each of the charges noted above.
On appeal, however, the Appellate Division, with one Justice dissenting, reversed and ordered a new trial. The majority concluded that defendant’s Sixth Amendment right to a public trial had been violated, since, in its view, the trial court had neither made a careful enough inquiry to determine if closure of the courtroom was actually warranted under the circumstances, nor articulated any basis for its decision on the record. A Justice of the Appellate Division subsequently granted the People leave to appeal to this Court. We now affirm.
Although of uncertain origin, "the right to a public trial has long been regarded as a fundamental privilege of the defendant in a criminal prosecution.” (People v Jelke, 308 NY 56, 61; see generally, Richmond Newspapers v Virginia, 448 US 555, 564-569.) Its significance has been attributed to a number of factors, foremost of which is the need to ensure that an accused is dealt with fairly and not unjustly condemned (see, Estes v Texas, 381 US 532, 538-539; People v Hinton, 31 NY2d 71, 73, cert denied 410 US 911; 1 Cooley, Constitutional Limitations, at 647 [8th ed 1927]). In this regard, it has been said that: "The knowledge that every criminal trial is subject to contemporaneous review in the forum of public opinion is an effective restraint on possible abuse of judicial power.” (In re Oliver, 333 US 257, 270.) Similarly, it has been recognized that open trials tend to promote "testimonial trustworthiness” by inducing a fear that perjured testimony might be detected (People v Jones, 82 AD2d 674, 677, lv denied 55 NY2d 751, citing People v Jelke, 308 NY, at 62-63, supra), and may even lead previously unknown persons to come forward with relevant evidence (see, Richmond Newspapers v Virginia, 448 US, at 570 n 8, supra, citing 6 Wigmore, Evidence § 1834, at 436 [Chadbourn rev 1976]).
The presumption of openness, however, is not absolute and must in certain circumstances give way to other competing societal concerns (see, Waller v Georgia, 467 US 39, 45, 48; People v Jones, 47 NY2d 409, 413, cert denied 444 US 946; People v Hinton, 31 NY2d, at 73-74, supra; People v Jelke, 308 NY, at 63, supra; see also, People v Kin Kan, 78 NY2d 54 [decided today]).
In doing so, however, we have always emphasized that no
III
Applying these principles to the case at bar, we conclude that defendant’s Sixth Amendment right to a public trial was clearly violated. Although a trial court is not "without discretion to choose among alternative means for determining whether an application to close a courtroom” should be granted (People v Jones, 47 NY2d, at 414, supra), here the record discloses that closure was ordered solely on the basis of a brief colloquy between the presiding Judge and counsel during which the prosecutor merely informed the court that the complainant desired that the courtroom be closed while she testified because of the subject matter of her testimony. Inexplicably, the court did not conduct any further inquiry concerning the nature and degree of any psychological or emotional impact testifying in open court would have on the witness (cf., People v Joseph, 59 NY2d 496 [Trial Judge conferred with complainant and counsel in robing room]). Nor
While the Sixth Amendment does not require a judicial insensitivity to the very real problems that rape victims may face in having to testify in open court (see, People v Jones, 82 AD2d 674, supra; see also, People v Glover, 60 NY2d 783, supra; People v Joseph, 59 NY2d 496, supra; United States ex rel Latimore v Sielaff, 561 F2d 691, 694-695 [7th Cir], cert denied 434 US 1076),
Accordingly, the order of the Appellate Division should be affirmed.
Chief Judge Wachtler and Judges Simons, Kaye, Alexander, Hancock, Jr., and Bellacosa concur.
Order affirmed.
. The Sixth Amendment’s public trial guarantee has been made applicable to the States through the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment (see, Duncan v Louisiana, 391 US 145, 148; In re Oliver, 333 US 257, 266-273; People v Jones, 47 NY2d 409, 411, n 1, cert denied 444 US 946).
. The Supreme Court has essentially adopted a four-part test for determining whether the public may be excluded from part of an accused’s trial: (1) the party seeking to close the courtroom must advance an overriding interest that is likely to be prejudiced; (2) the closure must be no broader than is necessary to protect that interest; (3) reasonable alternatives to closing the courtroom must be considered; and (4) the trial court must make findings adequate to support the closure (Waller v Georgia, 467 US 39, 48).
. See also, State v Klem, 438 NW2d 798, 801-802 (Sup Ct ND).
. While Globe Newspaper Co. v Superior Ct. (457 US 596), Press-Enterprise Co. v Superior Ct. (464 US 501) and Richmond Newspapers v Virginia (448 US 555) were all decided under the First Amendment, the Supreme Court has expressly acknowledged that the holdings of these cases are equally relevant in the Sixth Amendment context (Waller v Georgia, 467 US 39, 46).
. See generally, Berger, Man’s Trial, Woman’s Tribulation: Rape Cases in the Courtroom, 77 Colum L Rev 1 (1977); Bohmer & Blumberg, Twice Traumatized: The Rape Victim and the Court, 58 Judicature 390 (1975).