Opinion ID: 1740932
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: was it error to refuse to grant a new trial because of the presence of uniformed patrolmen in the courtroom during final argument?

Text: At the close of the case defense counsel had called each highway patrolman during the trial as a witness. At the end of their testimony these highway patrolmen remained seated in the courtroom together. Prior to closing argument defense counsel objected and asked the trial judge remove them from the courtroom. This objection was overruled. The trial judge is obligated to maintain order in the courtroom and prevent and suppress any disturbance which might prejudice the rights of the accused. Dean v. State, 173 Miss. 254, 160 So. 584, 588 (1933). In this instance the trial judge found that the highway patrolmen did not create a disturbance in the courtroom and that the atmosphere was not saturated with bias, hatred, or prejudice against the defendant and therefore his decision to allow the officers to remain in the courtroom does not constitute reversible error. See Seals v. State, 208 Miss. 236, 44 So.2d 61 (1949). The polestar consideration in affording a defendant a fair trial is that no one be punished for a crime without a charge fairly made and fairly tried in a public tribunal free of prejudice, passion, excitement, and trinical power. Sheppard v. Maxwell, 384 U.S. 333, 350, 86 S.Ct. 1507, 1516, 16 L.Ed.2d 600, 613 (1966). The right to a fair trial includes the right to a verdict based on the evidence and not extraneous prejudicial happenings in and around the courtroom. Fuselier v. State, 468 So.2d 45, 53 (Miss. 1985). We find nothing in this record to even intimate that the officers who remained in the courtroom created a disturbance or any type of uproar. The cases cited by Boches all involve situations where the spectators made loud comments or other gestures while the witnesses were on the stand. There is absolutely no evidence of any such occurrence in this particular case. There is no merit to this assignment.