Opinion ID: 1184955
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Third Was it error for the trial court to deny defendant's motion to exclude the press from the courtroom?

Text: No. Defendant contends that the trial court erred in denying his motion to exclude the press from the courtroom and deny the press access to him during the trial. At the outset of the trial, in chambers, defendant made the following motion: I wish to move that the Court deny the reporters access to the defendant, either during the trial or at any recess before the trial or after the trial. I base this on the fact that the publicity will be harmful to the defendant. It will give information to the prospective jury panel that should not be given to them. The further publicity, added to the publicity that's already been aroused by this case, is harmful to the defendant, and he could not get a fair trial in this county because of the publicity. And I add to this ground the fact that I have been advised that in the San Diego paper on Sunday there was an article that discussed this trial and reported the fact that there is a crime of murder, with a body mutilation, alleged to have been committed by this defendant in Texas. I think that this material is inflammatory. I don't see how the man can get a fair and impartial trial when these matters have been publicly exposed in a newspaper of general circulation  by that I mean a daily newspaper published in the county for general readership, and not a legal newspaper. I would ask the Court to exclude the reporters from the courtroom and deny them access to the defendant during the proceedings of this trial. In reply, the district attorney requested that the trial court throughout the trial instruct the jury that they were not to read any newspaper articles concerning the case and not to view television or any other news media with respect to the case. The district attorney added that he thought the voir dire examination of the jurors would disclose their prior knowledge of the case. The court thereupon ruled: I think, Mr. Smith [defendant's counsel], that with the proper voir dire and instructions of the Court that we can insure that the defendant will have a fair trial without the exclusion of the press, and I am of the feeling that there is a right on the part of the people to know what is going on in the courts, as well as the right of the defendant to have a fair trial, and I think that we can see that the defendant has a fair trial without the exclusion of the press in this case, as well as all others that I've presided over, so far at least. And so the motion to exclude the press is denied. [7] The record discloses no motion by defendant for a change of venue, nor any further motion to exclude the press from the courtroom. After the first prospective jurors, four of whom were ultimately selected as jurors in the present case, were seated in the jury box, the following took place: THE COURT: Anything that you've read or heard about this case that has influenced you to the point you don't think you could be a fair and impartial juror in this case? (Various of the prospective jurors shook their heads in the negative.) THE COURT: Do any of you feel that you've read anything or that you've made up your mind on the case, or know anything about the case that you feel that you couldn't be a fair and impartial juror in this case? (Various of the prospective jurors shook their heads in a negative manner.) During voir dire examination of the prospective jurors, all but three of the persons who were ultimately chosen as jurors were asked whether they had heard anything about the case from the various news media. Although some had heard something about the case, none of those nine jurors (including the foreman) felt that he would be influenced in his deliberations by what he had previously heard. The three other persons ultimately chosen as jurors were not specifically examined by defendant as to whether their deliberations would be affected by what they had heard or seen in the news media, but they were asked whether they had heard the questioning of the other prospective jurors and whether anything would prevent their being fair and impartial jurors. Each of the three indicated that he had heard the questioning and that he could be fair and impartial. The voir dire examination of the jurors indicates that those chosen as jurors were not influenced in their deliberations by whatever appeared in the news media. The fact that numerous prospective jurors, as well as those who were chosen as jurors, did not have strong recollections of the news media's coverage of the case also demonstrates the unlikelihood of there having been undue publicity or inflammatory reporting of the case by the press. After the trial began, the jury was instructed generally not to form any opinion on the case until it was submitted to them, and they were instructed specifically on several occasions not to read any newspaper articles or listen to any radio or television broadcasts relating to the case. The record contains no evidence of prejudicial pretrial publicity. At the time of his motion to exclude the press, all that defendant was able to point out to the court was that he had been advised that in the San Diego paper on Sunday there was an article that discussed this trial and reported the fact that there is a crime of murder, with a body mutilation, alleged to have been committed by this defendant in Texas. Even if this unsubstantiated allegation is taken as true, there is no indication that such an account in the newspaper was read by any of the jurors or that the account prejudiced defendant. Any prejudice seems unlikely in view of the fact that subsequent testimony properly described the Texas incident in great detail. Neither at the trial nor on appeal has defendant made a showing sufficient to demonstrate that pretrial publicity prevented his having a fair trial. (Cf. Sheppard v. Maxwell, 384 U.S. 333, 350-355 [16 L.Ed.2d 600, 86 S.Ct. 1507]; People v. Duncan, 53 Cal.2d 803, 810-816 [3 Cal. Rptr. 351, 350 P.2d 103], cert. granted, 363 U.S. 840 [4 L.Ed.2d 1725, 80 S.Ct. 1639], appeal dismissed, 366 U.S. 417 [6 L.Ed.2d 380, 81 S.Ct. 1355], because the totality of circumstances disclosed fails to support the substantial due process issues tendered in the petitions for certiorari.) It would have been clearly within the discretion of the trial court to deny a change of venue in the present case. (See People v. Duncan, supra, 53 Cal.2d 803, 812.) The record does not show whether there was any crowding of the courtroom by representatives of the various news media. (Cf. Estes v. Texas, 381 U.S. 532, 535-537 [14 L.Ed.2d 543, 85 S.Ct. 628]; Sheppard v. Maxwell, supra, 384 U.S. 333, 357-363.) It must therefore be presumed that the trial court acted within its discretion in denying defendant's motion to exclude the press from the courtroom. At the time of the trial, rule 980 of the California Rules of Court was in effect and barred photographing, recording for broadcasting, and broadcasting within the courtroom while the court was in session or during any recess. Presumably, the trial court acted in compliance with this rule. (Code Civ. Proc., § 1963, subds. 15, 33.) The voir dire examination of the jurors and the procedures adopted by the trial court in admonishing the jury to disregard the news media's reporting of the trial effectively ensured that defendant's right to a fair trial was not violated by publicity before or during the trial. Defendant has failed to show that the trial court abused its discretion in attempting to conduct a trial which was fair, public, and protective of the rights of defendant, the press, and the public at large.