Court Opinion

ID: 9465013
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 00:33:26.014761+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:38:55.931429
License: Public Domain

Oakes, Circuit Judge
(dissenting): I dissent.
Appellant’s defense — that he acted in self-defense — must have been fairly persuasive. The jury deliberated for quite a period of time (almost two days) despite the constant reminder of Hardee’s dangerous propensities by the presence in the courtroom of three or four armed guards in uniform, one always directly behind the defendant. And even if a juror might ordinarily become accustomed to such security measures, in this instance the impact on the jury was exacerbated by the repeated rotation of that guard sitting directly behind the defendant. Imagine, the defense is self-defense and the defendant is evidently such a tough, dangerous person that he needs not only uniformed armed guards in the courtroom, but more guards than doorways. Additionally, the guard behind him must be relieved every few minutes, doubtless because of the stress and tension he is under by having to guard this dangerous criminal, er, defendant entitled to a presumption of innocence.
Has the defendant been disruptive? No. Has he at any time threatened to escape? No. Has he not been searched each day before entering the courtroom? No. Is he considered dangerous because of his conduct while confined in the Westchester County jail? No. The merit of appellant’s claim becomes crystal clear from the negative answers to each of these questions which the record below reveals.
What has the appellant done, then, to justify this zealous guarding? Is it the nature of the offense with which he has been charged? Again the record tells us no. The state trial judge informs us that this guarding is imposed on all persons charged with a crime in Westchester County if they meet one condition: they must fail to make bail. Anyone who has the financial resources to make bail, however, is not so guarded, A different presumption of innocence, therefore, prevails in Westchester County, depending on the financial means of the particular defendant.
But this is not a claim of denial of equal protection of the laws. It is a claim of an unfair trial — a lack of procedural due process. In my view, the use of uniformed guards on a rotating basis with one guard directly behind the accused, absent some showing of necessity totally lacking here, was excessive and prejudicial. In the case of rights as fundamental as the presumption of innocence, see Estelle v. Williams, 425 U.S. 501, 504, 96 S.Ct. 1691, 48 L.Ed.2d 126 (1976), security measures should be no greater than necessary under the circumstances to ensure security. See, e. g., United States v. Samuel, 431 F.2d 610, 615-16 (4th Cir. 1970); Burwell v. Teets, 245 F.2d 154, 168 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 355 U.S. 896, 78 S.Ct. 271, 2 L.Ed.2d 194 (1957). Looking first to the rotation of guards every fifteen minutes, it is difficult to conceive of any safety function served thereby. Thus, the reasoning of Estelle v. Williams, supra, 425 U.S. at 505, 96 S.Ct. 1691, which distinguishes between the use of physical restraints for safety reasons and “compelling an accused to wear jail clothing [which] furthers no essential state policy” is equally persuasive here. Moreover, the blanket use of four armed guards, one stationed at Har-dee’s rear, without a showing that the defendant posed an immediate threat to the peace and order of the trial certainly does not reveal an attempt to minimize possible prejudice to the defense. See Dorman v. United States, 140 U.S.App.D.C. 313, 325-326, 435 F.2d 385, 397-98 (1970) (en banc). As stated in Kennedy v. Cardwell, 487 F.2d 101, 108-09 (6th Cir. 1973), cert. denied, 416 U.S. 959, 94 S.Ct. 1976, 40 L.Ed.2d 310 (1974):
The general rule derived from these decisions is that a defendant has a right to be tried in an atmosphere free of partiality created by the use of excessive guards except where special circumstances, which in the discretion of the trial judge, dictate added security precautions. One reason underlying this right is that guards seated around or next to the de*335fendant during a jury trial are likely to create the impression in the minds of the jury that the defendant is dangerous or untrustworthy. See McCloskey v. Bos-low, 349 F.2d 119 (4th Cir. 1965); Dennis v. Dees, 278 F.Supp. 354 (E.D.La.1968). Also the placement of guards in relation to the defendant could materially interfere with his ability to consult with counsel. However, the use of guards for security purposes, when wisely employed, provides the best means for protecting a defendant’s fair trial right and only in rare cases would greater security precautions be warranted. Since guards can be strategically placed in the .courtroom when more than normal security is needed and can be hidden in plainclothes, the jury never needs to be aware of the added protection so that no prejudice would adhere to the defendant. [Footnotes omitted; emphasis added.]
Here, the only reason for visibly surrounding the defendant with guards was his inability to make bail. In short, less drastic means of security would have sufficed and, as in United States v. Jackson, 549 F.2d 517, 527 & n. 8 (8th Cir.), cert. denied, 430 U.S. 985, 97 S.Ct. 1682, 52 L.Ed.2d 379 (1977), and United States v. Estremera, 531 F.2d 1103, 1113 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 425 U.S. 979, 96 S.Ct. 2184, 48 L.Ed.2d 804 (1976), several precautions could have been taken to shield the jury from awareness of the security measures, including the use of nonuniformed officers. There are other cases, but there is no point in belaboring the obvious.