Opinion ID: 698644
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Heightened Courtroom Security

Text: 17 The Group II trial took place in the secure courtroom of the United States Courthouse in Washington. That courtroom had a twelve-foot-high plexiglass partition separating the spectator section from the well of the court (i.e., the counsel tables, jury box, and bench). Two videocameras were located in the top rear corners of the courtroom. The record indicates that there were more courthouse security personnel than usual on hand throughout the proceedings, although we have no record as to how many officers were actually present at trial, where in the courtroom they were stationed, whether they were uniformed, and the like. It is also uncertain whether there was any additional security equipment (metal detectors, for example) in or outside the courtroom. 18 Appellants jointly petitioned to move their trial out of the secure courtroom and to reduce the number of security personnel present, claiming that these measures impermissibly create[d] the impression of the assemblage of a group of wild desperadoes. The district court denied the requests, citing the security and manageability concerns presented by a trial with such a large number of defendants and involving an organization that purchased its place in the community through the spilling of blood. During the Group II jury selection, however, the court did instruct the venire members to ignore the extra security precautions: The judge noted that many different civil and criminal trials were held in that same courtroom, that the partitioned courtroom design was common in courthouses across the country, and that uniformed security personnel were always present at criminal trials in direct proportion to the number of defendants on trial. The court repeatedly made clear that none of these measures had anything to do with the guilt or innocence of the defendants, and it confirmed several times that the venire members understood the instructions. 19 Appellants now claim that these extra security measures--especially in combination with the jury's sequestration and anonymity--denied them a fair trial by signaling to the jurors that the defendants were dangerous and most likely guilty. They correctly point out that the constitutional presumption of innocence may be undermined by the physical indicia of guilt; criminal defendants do have a right to be free of court-imposed physical appearances that are unfairly suggestive of their guilt. See, e.g., Estelle v. Williams, 425 U.S. 501, 96 S.Ct. 1691, 48 L.Ed.2d 126 (1976) (holding unconstitutional a requirement that defendant appear in prison garb at trial). On the other hand, this does not mean ... that every practice tending to single out the accused from everyone else in the courtroom must be struck down, Holbrook v. Flynn, 475 U.S. 560, 567, 106 S.Ct. 1340, 1345, 89 L.Ed.2d 525 (1986), especially when the proceedings present legitimate security concerns to which the presiding judge must respond. Like the decision to empanel an anonymous jury, the trial court's choice of courtroom security procedures requires a subtle reading of the immediate atmosphere and a prediction of potential risks--judgments nearly impossible for appellate courts to second-guess after the fact. For that reason, the balancing of the competing concerns for the presumption of innocence and for the integrity of the courtroom and its proceedings is best left to the sound discretion of the trial judge. See, e.g., Scarfo, 850 F.2d at 1024; United States v. Nicholson, 846 F.2d 277, 279 (5th Cir.1988). 20 In light of the security concerns noted above and the large number of defendants at the proceedings, we cannot say that the trial judge abused his discretion. Appellants do not point to any evidence of actual prejudice resulting from the security measures taken in their trial. Nor will we presume prejudice: We agree with another district judge who has held trials in the secure courtroom that the plexiglass partition and the videocameras (meticulously described in his opinion) are minimally intrusive, do not come between the jury box and the defendants or witnesses, and are far less stigmatizing than many other security measures--such as the shackling of unruly, flight-prone, or dangerous defendants--used in other courtrooms and upheld by other circuits. See United States v. Whitehorn, 710 F.Supp. 803, 835-41 (D.D.C.), rev'd on unrelated grounds sub nom. United States v. Rosenberg, 888 F.2d 1406 (D.C.Cir.1989). Appellants have likewise failed to demonstrate that the number of security officers present during the proceedings was disproportionate to the number of defendants being tried or that the officers were stationed in the courtroom in a way that might particularly influence the jury. Finally, the district court's lengthy instructions to the venire members seem more than adequate to alleviate any incidental prejudice that may have resulted.