Opinion ID: 23919
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Synergistic Impact of Closure Orders

Text: 42 Although the News Media failed to challenge the initial jury anonymity order, they nevertheless assert that the closure and gag orders designed to protect the integrity of trial, even if not individually unconstitutional, cumulatively deprived the public of the constitutional openness required in our criminal trials. These orders included (a) the gag order on trial participants, upheld by this Court in Brown, supra; (b) the sealing of the juror questionnaires; (c) the initial closure of most of the voir dire hearings; (d) the noncircumvention orders preventing identification during trial of the jurors; and (e) the confidentiality orders protecting the jury after trial. Under the circumstances of this case, they did not. 43 Very real threats were posed by excessive media coverage, by the trial participants' eagerness to manipulate the News Media, and by the risk of jury harassment and taint. The judge was empowered and entitled to counteract each of these threats in order to assure a fair trial. With the sole exception of the overbroad noncircumvention orders, her actions were appropriate. And as for the public perception of the trial's fairness, it cannot have been harmed. Except for a blackout on the jurors' identities, media coverage of the trial was extensive. The public knew what was going on. They knew that the jury rendered split verdicts, exonerating all but defendant Brown and convicting him only on some of the counts. The public can perceive that the jurors were neither in the prosecution's pocket, nor, because of their anonymity, could they have been improperly influenced by the defendants. 22 The result of the trial seems to belie any contention that the public's rights to a transparent criminal justice system were unconstitutionally compromised.