Opinion ID: 1835424
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Closure of Posttrial Hearing.

Text: Knox contends that the court erred in failing to close a portion of the hearing on his motion for new trial in which he attempted to prove that the jury foreman was a member of the anti-Semitic and racist terrorist organization, Posse Comitatus. Knox moved to close the hearing during the testimony of two lay witnesses who allegedly had expressed concerns about retaliation by the jury foreman or the Posse Comitatus. The State resisted the motion, as did several members of the local news media. The district court denied closure, ruling that it would be an impermissible prior restraint. The court also found that any damage had already been done because the jury foreman knew the identity of the two witnesses. Because this issue involves the potential violation of basic constitutional safeguards, our review is de novo, and we make our own evaluation of the record from the totality of the circumstances. Des Moines Register & Tribune v. District Court, 426 N.W.2d 142, 143 (Iowa 1988). The first amendment implicitly guarantees the press and general public a right of access to criminal trials. [1] See Richmond Newspapers, Inc. v. Virginia, 448 U.S. 555, 580, 100 S.Ct. 2814, 2829, 65 L.Ed.2d 973, 991-92 (1980) (plurality opinion). This right of access, however, is not unqualified. In Press-Enterprise Co. v. Superior Court, 478 U.S. 1, 14, 106 S.Ct. 2735, 2743, 92 L.Ed.2d 1, 13-14 (1986), the Supreme Court stated that, before a criminal proceeding can be closed, the Court must make specific findings demonstrating that, first, there is a substantial probability that the defendant's right to a fair trial will be prejudiced by publicity that closure would prevent and, second, reasonable alternatives to closure cannot adequately protect the defendant's free trial rights. In other words, closure must be necessitated by a compelling interest and must be narrowly tailored to serve that interest. See Globe Newspaper Co. v. Superior Court, 457 U.S. 596, 607, 102 S.Ct. 2613, 2620, 73 L.Ed.2d 248, 257 (1982). Knox's argument that the hearing should have been closed because of the two witnesses who allegedly expressed apprehension about testifying is based on his fear that this impacted unfavorably on his right to a fair hearing. He failed, however, to introduce sufficient evidence from which it could be concluded there was a substantial probability that his right to a fair trial would be prejudiced. One of the two frightened witnesses did testify at the hearing and expressed no concerns about retaliation. Although the second witness was not present for the hearing, he was never actually subpoenaed and no evidence was presented to establish any specific reason for his failure to appear. Even assuming the witnesses were apprehensive, their concerns that they could be placed in danger does not necessarily require closure. Cf. Des Moines Register & Tribune Co. v. Osmundson, 248 N.W.2d 493, 500 (Iowa 1976) (confidentiality of juror list denied). The trial court had no basis in the record for concluding any danger existed to the witness or that Knox's right to a fair trial was impaired by the open proceeding. Knox also failed to show, as required by the cases cited above, that no reasonable alternatives to closure could adequately protect his fair trial rights. We conclude that the trial court was correct in refusing to close the proceeding.