Opinion ID: 2550075
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Decision to hold a portion of the individual voir dire of prospective jurors in the office of a District Magistrate because of a bomb threat for the Bradford County Courthouse

Text: Appellant next argues that the trial court erred in holding individual voir dire in the nearby office of a district magistrate during the afternoon of the final day of jury selection, because of a bomb threat being telephoned to the Bradford County Courthouse. Our review of the transcript of these proceedings indicates that after the defendant was transported to the magistrate's office, the jury selection resumed without further incident or disruption. The trial court has further noted that [w]hile there were space limitations in the small courtroom, no one was intentionally excluded. The office remained open and we were advised business was conducted (i.e. payment of fines, etc.) while the voir dire process was ongoing. Trial Court Opinion, 12/15/05, at 1-2. Appellant specifically contends that the trial court's decision to conduct the voir dire at the office of the district magistrate deprived him of his right under Article I, Section 9 of the Pennsylvania Constitution to a public trial since no members of the public were present during the voir dire process. Appellant's claim is meritless. Although no members of the public may have been actually present in the magistrate's courtroom where voir dire was taking place, the magistrate's office, which contained the courtroom, was open to the public during the entirety of the voir dire proceeding. The record does not reflect that any member of the public was excluded from the magistrate's courtroom during this time, or that a person would have been excluded from observing the voir dire if he or she wished to do so. Moreover, a full and complete transcript was made of these proceedings which is a matter of public record. Thus, Appellant's right to a public trial secured by Article I, Section 9 was not violated under these circumstances. See Commonwealth v. Harris, 550 Pa. 92, 703 A.2d 441 (1997) (finding no violation of a defendant's right to a public trial where individual voir dire was conducted in an anteroom adjacent to the courtroom, since there was no evidence any member of the public was excluded by the court or otherwise prohibited from entering to observe).