Opinion ID: 480562
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Hearings

Text: 13 The First Amendment clearly guarantees the right of the press and the public to attend criminal trials. Globe Newspaper Co. v. Superior Court, 457 U.S. 596, 603, 102 S.Ct. 2613, 2618, 73 L.Ed.2d 248 (1982); Richmond Newspapers, Inc. v. Virginia, 448 U.S. 555, 558-581, 100 S.Ct. 2814, 2818-30, 65 L.Ed.2d 973 (1980) (plurality opinion); In re Knight Publishing Co., 743 F.2d 231, 233 (4th Cir.1984). In Press-Enterprise Co. v. Superior Court (Press-Enterprise I), 464 U.S. 501, 104 S.Ct. 819, 78 L.Ed.2d 629 (1984), the Court indicated that the right of access assured by the First Amendment also extends to at least some kinds of pre-trial proceedings in criminal cases. In particular, on the facts of that case, the Court held that the First Amendment right of access applies to voir dire proceedings for the selection of jurors. 5 Because the Court appeared to treat voir dire proceedings as a part of the trial itself, however, some courts subsequently expressed uncertainty as to whether the right of access extended to pre-trial proceedings that could not arguably be said to be part of the trial. See, e.g., In re Application of The Herald Co., 734 F.2d 93, 98 (2d Cir.1984). That uncertainty has been resolved by the Supreme Court's recent decision in Press-Enterprise Co. v. Superior Court (Press-Enterprise II), --- U.S. ----, 106 S.Ct. 2735, 92 L.Ed.2d 1 (1986), which makes clear that the First Amendment right of access extends to at least some pre-trial hearings that cannot arguably be found to be part of the trial. There, the Court held that the access right extends to preliminary hearings held to determine whether there is probable cause to go to trial. Several of the federal courts of appeals have also found a First Amendment right of public access to a variety of pre-trial proceedings in criminal cases. In particular, a First Amendment access right has been found with respect to hearings concerning the suppression of evidence, In re Application of The Herald Co., 734 F.2d 93, 99 (2d Cir.1984); United States v. Brooklier, 685 F.2d 1162, 1169-71 (9th Cir.1982); United States v. Criden, 675 F.2d 550, 554-57 (3d Cir.1982), and bail hearings, United States v. Chagra, 701 F.2d 354, 363-64 (5th Cir.1983). 14 In deciding whether the First Amendment right of access extends to a particular kind of hearing, both the Supreme Court and the courts of appeals have looked to two factors: historical tradition and the function of public access in serving important public purposes. In the first inquiry, the court asks whether the type of proceeding at issue has traditionally been conducted in an open fashion. In the second inquiry, the court asks whether public access to the proceeding would tend to operate as a curb on prosecutorial or judicial misconduct and would further the public's interest in understanding the criminal justice system. Press-Enterprise II, --- U.S. at ----, 106 S.Ct. at 2739-43; Globe Newspaper Co. v. Superior Court, 457 U.S. 596, 605-06, 102 S.Ct. 2613, 2619-20, 73 L.Ed.2d 248 (1982); United States v. Brooklier, 685 F.2d 1162, 1167, 1170 (9th Cir.1982); United States v. Criden, 675 F.2d 550, 555-57 (3d Cir.1982). 15 Examination of the decided cases leads us to conclude that the First Amendment right of access extends to hearings of the type involved here. We note, first of all, that both plea hearings and sentencing hearings arguably fall within the scope of the right of access to criminal trials, which is clearly guaranteed by Richmond Newspapers and Globe Newspaper Co. Because the taking of a guilty plea serves as a substitute for a trial, it may reasonably be treated in the same manner as a trial for First Amendment purposes. Sentencing may also be viewed as within the scope of the criminal trial itself. Sentencing can occur before the termination of the trial proceeding, and, even if it occurs in a separate hearing, it clearly amounts to the culmination of the trial. Moreover, even if plea hearings and sentencing hearings are not considered a part of the trial itself, they are surely as much an integral part of a criminal prosecution as are preliminary probable-cause hearings, suppression hearings, or bail hearings, all of which have been held to be subject to the public's First Amendment right of access. 16 In addition, historical and functional considerations weigh in favor of finding a First Amendment right of access here. Sentencings have historically been open to the public; while plea hearings do not have the same long tradition, they are typically held in open court. As to both, public access serves the important function of discouraging either the prosecutor or the court from engaging in arbitrary or wrongful conduct. The presence of the public operates to check any temptation that might be felt by either the prosecutor or the court to obtain a guilty plea by coercion or trick, or to seek or impose an arbitrary or disproportionate sentence.