Opinion ID: 1946069
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 10

Heading: the court erred in overruling appellant's objections to the presence of law enforcement officers in the courtroom.

Text: Appellant argues that several law enforcement officers were within the rail of the courtroom asserting influence on the jury. Specifically, appellant cites Uniform Circuit Court Rules § 1.01(b) that only officers of the court, attorneys, judges, members of the press, litigants and representatives of the litigants of the case on trial may be allowed within the rail, constituting the bar of the court. From a review of the record, we have not been able to ascertain whether the appellant was prejudiced in any respect by the presence of the law enforcement officers behind the bar of the court. The record does reflect that when the objection was made, the trial judge expressed concern about having sufficient security for the courtroom. [2] We caution trial judges to avoid the appearance of intimidation. However, under the circumstances of this case, we hold that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in allowing the officers to remain inside the bar of the court. We see no merit in appellant's final assignment of error. The verdict of the jury in this case was amply supported by the evidence. Therefore, we will affirm the judgment of the lower court. AFFIRMED. PATTERSON, C.J., ROY NOBLE LEE, P.J., and PRATHER, ROBERTSON and SULLIVAN, JJ., concur. DAN M. LEE, J., dissents. WALKER, P.J., and HAWKINS, J., not participating.