Opinion ID: 2159195
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 15

Heading: Did the Trial Court's Refusal to Bar Uniformed Irvington Police Officers from the Courtroom During the Penalty Phase Violate Defendant's Right to a Fair Trial?

Text: Prior to the commencement of the penalty phase of the case, defense counsel noted the presence of nine or ten Irvington police officers in the courtroom, objecting to the fact that they were in uniform on the ground that their intent was to send a message to the jury. The trial court responded by ruling that the officers have a right to be here, observing that I don't believe I can tell them how to dress when they come to court. We find no prejudicial error in the court's ruling. Nevertheless, for future guidance, we emphasize that a trial court's paramount responsibility in presiding over a criminal trial is to assure that the proceedings are conducted fairly and that a verdict is rendered impartially by the jury. To that end, a court has broad discretionary powers that may be exercised to protect the jury from extraneous pressures that might affect the proper discharge of its sworn duty. In appropriate circumstances, that power might properly be exercised by imposing limitations on the dress of police or correction officers, by prohibiting the display of buttons or emblems, or by other proscriptions necessary to preserve decorum and an atmosphere of impartiality in the courtroom. We note with approval the observation by the Supreme Court of Kansas in State v. McNaught, 238 Kan. 567, 713 P. 2d 457 (Kan. 1986), a vehicular homicide case in which defendant was allegedly driving while intoxicated and numerous spectators were present in court wearing buttons inscribed MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) and SADD (Students Against Drunk Driving): In the administration of justice, the trial judge is charged with the preservation of order in his court and with the duty to see that justice is not obstructed by any person or persons whatsoever. A large measure of discretion resides in the trial court in this respect, and its exercise will not be disturbed on appeal unless it appears that prejudice resulted from the denial of a legal right. One of the ideals of criminal jurisprudence is that a defendant is entitled to a trial in a calm judicial atmosphere, to minimize any possibility of a decision being rendered on speculation or emotion rather than on the facts and logical reasoning. On occasions, however, the decorum of the courtroom has been disturbed by demonstrations by spectators. On such occasions, in determining whether or not a defendant was denied a fair trial, the decision of whether the jury was or possibly could have been influenced is one which is necessarily left to the sound discretion of the trial court, the exercise of which will not be disturbed unless it appears that prejudice resulted from the disturbance. [238 Kan. at 577, 713 P. 2d at 466.] Cf. United States v. Alvarez, 755 F. 2d 830 (11th Cir.1985), cert. denied, Hernandez v. United States, 474 U.S. 905, 106 S.Ct. 274, 88 L.Ed. 2d 235 (1985) (in trial involving charges of murder and assault of agents of Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms and Tobacco (BATF), trial court did not abuse its discretion in permitting BATF agents that testified to remain in courtroom during closing arguments); Woods v. State, 490 So. 2d 24 (Fla. 1986), cert. denied, 479 U.S. 954, 107 S.Ct. 446, 93 L.Ed. 2d 394 (1986) (upholding trial court's exercise of discretion in refusing to bar uniformed correction guards from courtroom). In a related context, involving a challenge to the presence of uniformed state troopers in court for security purposes, the United States Supreme Court, reversing the First Circuit Court of Appeals, reinstated a Rhode Island armed robbery conviction and upheld the trial court's exercise of discretion in permitting the troopers' presence. The Court's observations, however, highlight our concern that trial courts exercise effective supervisory discretion in dealing with such issues: We do not minimize the threat that a roomful of uniformed and armed policemen might pose to a defendant's chances of receiving a fair trial. See ABA Standards for Criminal Justice 15-3.1(c) (2d ed. 1980). But we simply cannot find an unacceptable risk of prejudice in the spectacle of four such officers quietly sitting in the first row of a courtroom's spectator section. Even had the jurors been aware that the deployment of troopers was not common practice in Rhode Island, we cannot believe that the use of the four troopers tended to brand respondent in their eyes with an unmistakable mark of guilt.            However, our task here is not to determine whether it might have been feasible for the State to have employed less conspicuous security measures in the courtroom. While, in our supervisory capacity, we might express a preference that officers providing courtroom security in federal courts not be easily identifiable by jurors as guards, we are much more constrained when reviewing a constitutional challenge to a state-court proceeding. All a federal court may do in such a situation is look at the scene presented to jurors and determine whether what they saw was so inherently prejudicial as to pose an unacceptable threat to defendant's right to a fair trial; if the challenged practice is not found inherently prejudicial and if the defendant fails to show actual prejudice, the inquiry is over. Respondent has failed to carry his burden here. [ Holbrook v. Flynn, 475 U.S. 560, 570-71 [106 S.Ct. 1340, 1346-47,] 89 L.Ed. 2d 525, 536-37 (1986) (footnotes omitted).] Based on our review of the record, we do not find an abuse of discretion by the trial court in its refusal to grant defendant's request to exclude uniformed Irvington police officers from observing the penalty phase of the proceedings. In the event the issue recurs on retrial of the penalty phase, the trial court should carefully consider its resolution in the context of our observations in this opinion.