Court Opinion

ID: 9495703
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 16:08:39.591491+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:57:09.561061
License: Public Domain

POOLER, Circuit Judge,
concurring in the judgment.
I concur in the judgment. Regretfully, I cannot concur in the majority’s reasoning, which has two central flaws. First, the majority ignores the careful factual record made by the district court and thus sweeps far more widely than necessary to resolve this appeal. More important, the majority opinion misconstrues and conflicts with Yung v. Walker, 296 F.3d 129 (2d Cir.2002) and impermissibly restricts the authority granted to the district court by 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)(2).
To explain why the record below justifies affirmance without any consideration of the parameters of Yung, I will briefly describe the background of the issue before us.
At Sevencan’s trial, the prosecution requested closure of the courtroom for the testimony of the undercover officer who provided the most significant testimony against Sevencan. Sevencan v. Herbert, 152 F.Supp.2d 252, 254-55 (E.D.N.Y.2001). After Sevencan objected to closure, the trial court conducted a hearing at which the undercover officer testified that he worked throughout New York City and that five to ten individuals targeted by his past investigations remained at large. Id. at 255. He claimed that testifying would endanger his life and limit his ability to function as an undercover officer. Id. Based on the undercover officer’s testimony, the trial court closed the courtroom to the public including Sevencan’s family members. Id.
On June 24, 1993, the trial judge told the attorneys that both the undercover officer and the assistant district attorney had received death threats. Id. Three trial days later, as the undercover officer’s testimony continued, Jacinta Asillo Sevencan, the defendant’s wife, came to the courtroom. Id. Defense counsel requested that Mrs. Sev-encan be admitted because she “works all the time [and tjhis is practically the only day she can get here and would like to come in.” Id. (quoting Tr. at 2550). After the court reminded counsel that the courtroom was sealed, counsel responded: “Yes it is. That’s why I’m applying to you it be allowed.” Id. The court declined defense counsel’s request, finding that Mrs. Seven-can did not fall within the scope of an exception it had created for attorneys and students who worked with the defense counsel. Id. at 256.
After Sevencan’s conviction and exhaustion of state appellate remedies, he filed a habeas petition containing a claim based on Mrs. Sevencan’s exclusion. United *89States District Judge Allyne Ross appointed counsel for Sevencan and conducted a healing. At the hearing, respondent submitted tapes of conversations that suggest Mrs. Sevencan’s knowledge of her husband’s illegal activities and her familiarity with several of Sevencan’s associates including Turon Taspinar, who was Sevencan’s intermediary with “the Boss” in Turkey. Sevencan, 152 F.Supp.2d at 258-59.
The undercover officer also testified, adding significantly to the allegations he previously had made in support of closure. He testified that he purchased large quantities of heroin from Sevencan and Taspi-nar and that the two offered to give him two kilos of heroin in return for the murder of a Turkish politician. Sevencan also admitted to the undercover that both he and his bodyguard had committed murder. The undercover officer considered the Turkish heroin conspiracy to be organized crime and Sevencan to be one of its bosses. Id. at 257.
From the beginning of the undercover officer’s trial testimony, he protected his safety by switching entrances to the courthouse and entering at different times. Two armed bodyguards accompanied him. Id. at 258. After the undercover officer received a death threat, he began to wear a bulletproof vest when entering and leaving the courthouse, something he never had done before. Id.
At the time of trial, the officer intended to return to the same general area in which Sevencan plied his narcotics trade. The officer did business in bars on Sheeps-head Bay Road, a large shopping area for people in Mrs. Sevencan’s neighborhood. He spent between two and five days a week in this area and intended to continue buying from Turkish drug dealers.
Judge Ross held that the closure of the courtroom to Mrs. Sevencan during one day of the undercover officer’s testimony did not deny Sevencan his right to a public trial because (1) protection of the undercover’s safety and security was an important interest within the meaning of Waller v. Georgia, 467 U.S. 39, 48, 104 S.Ct. 2210, 81 L.Ed.2d 31 (1984), and (2) the State demonstrated that Mrs. Sevencan was likely to encounter the undercover officer in the course of her daily activities. Sev-encan, 152 F.Supp.2d at 264-65. Although the court acknowledged that Mrs. Seven-can did not pose a direct physical threat to the officer, it held that her ability to report the undercover’s description to other more dangerous individuals was sufficient. Id. at 265-66. Judge Ross also found that Mrs. Sevencan was “a timid pliable woman” likely to be susceptible to a request from Taspinar, who still was at large, to inform him if she spotted the undercover officer. Id. at 266-67. Finally, the court found that Mrs. Sevencan deliberately minimized her relationship with Sevencan’s co-conspirators. Id. at 266.
Judge Ross’ analysis of the threat Mrs. Sevencan posed to the undercover officer rested in part on Vidal v. Williams, 31 F.3d 67 (2d Cir.1994). In this case, which was decided before the effective date of the Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (“AEDPA”), we held that closure of a courtroom to defendant’s parents was not justified where the state proved neither that the parents were likely to encounter the undercover officer nor that they were inclined to harm him. Id. at 69. The majority holds that Judge Ross erred by applying Vidal to the facts of this case. I disagree. In Yung, we held that proving likelihood of encounter and/or inclination to harm is not the only way to justify closing a trial to the defendant’s relatives. Yung, 296 F.3d at 134. We neither held nor implied that a district court could not use a Vidal analysis as a preliminary step in adjudicating a family courtroom closure *90issue. Here, the district court would have erred had it granted the petition relying on Vidal and ignoring Waller. Instead, the district court denied the petition. Once the court found that the state court acted properly even under Vidal, which arguably is more protective of the ability of family members to attend a trial than is Waller, it had no need to determine whether the closure would survive using a Waller analysis. A fortiori, it would.
At the time Judge Ross ruled, we had issued no post-AEDPA cases addressing closure of a courtroom to a family member. Thus, the judge acted properly and in the interest of judicial economy by first testing the facts against the restrictive Vidal principle. Although the majority contends that the district court could not look to our cases to determine whether the state unreasonably applied Supreme Court precedent, we have not hesitated to rely on our precedent to establish that a state court did not unreasonably apply Supreme Court precedent. See Leslie v. Artuz, 230 F.3d 25, 32-33 (2d Cir.2000) (refusing to find an unreasonable application of Supreme Court precedent because this circuit had declined to extend the right at issue to similar facts), cert. denied, 531 U.S. 1199, 121 S.Ct. 1206, 149 L.Ed.2d 120 (2001). Error could have occurred only if Judge Ross found the closure improper under Vidal and then failed to consider whether it nevertheless constituted an unreasonable application of Waller.
Before I address the merits of the district court’s decision, I pause to consider Sevencan’s contention that the district court erred by holding a supplemental hearing.1 Although Sevencan recognizes our prior holding in Nieblas v. Smith, 204 F.3d 29 (2d Cir.1999), that district courts have discretion to hold a supplemental hearing on courtroom closure, he argues that Nieblas is contrary to both Waller and 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)(1).
Sevencan relies on the fourth prong of the Waller test, which requires that the trial court make findings adequate to support closure, 467 U.S. at 48, 104 S.Ct. 2210, arguing that this requirement precludes the consideration of after-the-fact evidence. We already have rejected his argument. Nieblas, 204 F.3d at 31-32; see also Yung, 296 F.3d at 137; Gonzalez v. Quinones, 211 F.3d 735, 738 (2d Cir.2000).
Sevencan’s statute-based argument fares no better. Section 2254(d)(1) precludes a district court from granting a writ of habe-as corpus unless the state court’s adjudication of a claim “resulted in a decision that ... involved an unreasonable application of[ ] clearly established Federal law, as determined by the Supreme Court of the United States.” Sevencan argues that, by negative implication, this language requires the district court to grant the writ whenever the state trial court has unreasonably applied Supreme Court precedent to the trial record. In Sevencan’s view, because the court must grant the writ as soon as it finds an unreasonable interpretation of Supreme Court precedent, it lacks authority to conduct a hearing. He also argues that Section 2254(d)(1), which was enacted as part of AEDPA and thus was not in effect when Nieblas filed his petition, implicitly overruled Nieblas. Of course, both Yung and Gonzalez addressed post-AEDPA petitions. More important, Section 2254(d)(1) describes when a writ cannot be granted. It does not explicitly or implicitly invalidate the district courts’ long-standing practice of holding evidentia-*91ry hearings to supplement a deficient state record. Therefore, Section 2254(d)(1) does not preclude the use of these hearings.
Sevencan alternatively argues that (1) the facts of his case did not justify a Nieblas hearing and (2) a Nieblas hearing should be limited to facts that the witnesses knew at the time of trial, leaving no room for speculation. Neither of these arguments has merit.
The hearing in this case was well within the scope of the district court’s discretion as described in Nieblas. Two factors supported the Nieblas court’s affirmance of the district court’s decision to hold a hearing. First, the petitioner made only a perfunctory objection at trial. Second, the law changed after trial, creating a greater necessity for a fully developed record. We held that “where either of the above two reasons or any other similar reason exists, it is particularly appropriate for a habeas court to gather additional evidence — rather than granting the defendants the ‘windfall’ of a new trial — where the alleged constitutional violation does not affect the fairness of the outcome at trial, as in courtroom closure cases like this one.” Nieblas, 204 F.3d at 32 (quoting Waller, 467 U.S. at 50, 104 S.Ct. 2210). Like Nieblas, Sevencan made only a perfunctory objection to the exclusion of his wife. He did not alert the trial court that a different standard might govern his wife’s exclusion. In addition, after Sevenean’s trial in 1993, New York’s Court of Appeals decided People v. Nieves, 90 N.Y.2d 426, 660 N.Y.S.2d 858, 683 N.E.2d 764 (1997), in which it held that to exclude a defendant’s wife and children, the People must establish “a ‘substantial probability’ that the officer’s safety would be jeopardized by [their] presence.” Nieves, 660 N.Y.S.2d at 861, 683 N.E.2d 764. As in Nieblas, it is likely that the People would have built a stronger case for the exclusion of Mrs. Sevencan had Nieves been New York law at the time of trial. Thus, the district court did not err by holding a Nieblas hearing. Nor does the district court’s decision indicate that the court relied on facts not known to the witnesses at the time of trial.
Judge Ross clearly made the right decision on the merits. The proof at trial and at the Nieblas hearing established that Sevencan admitted to murder, tried to arrange for the undercover officer to kill a rival, and admitted that his bodyguard also had committed a murder. The evidence also established that the undercover officer and the assistant district attorney received death threats several days before Mrs. Sevencan asked to be admitted. After receiving those threats, the undercover officer began to wear a bullet proof vest when he entered and left the courthouse. Even before that time, the officer varied his times of arrival and was accompanied by two bodyguards. Finally, the evidence established that Mrs. Sevencan had reason to know the nature of her husband’s business, maintained ties to men in her husband’s criminal organization, and shopped and ran other errands in the area where the undercover continued to operate. This evidence was more than sufficient to justify the closure under Vidal or any other reasonable interpretation of Waller.
As a general matter, cases should be decided on the narrowest basis possible, leaving for a future case questions not raised by the facts. Because the majority decides issues well beyond the scope of the record, I cannot concur in its opinion.
I also respectfully conclude that the majority’s analysis of the courtroom closure question is erroneous. This analysis comprises three steps. First, the majority finds that the “heightened showing” required to exclude family members “is satisfied where the record reflects that the *92state trial court considered the familial relationship at the time the family member was excluded.” Second, the majority says that the state court’s knowledge that Sev-encan’s wife wished to be admitted triggered an implicit conclusion that the need to protect the undercover officer justified her exclusion. Finally, the majority holds that “[bjecause the trial court was clearly aware of the familial relationship between Sevencan and his wife, and because its decision to close the courtroom otherwise comported with Waller, the court’s exclusion of Mrs. Sevencan from the courtroom during the undercover officer’s testimony does not amount to an unreasonable application of clearly established federal law as determined by the Supreme Court.” (internal citation omitted). While I have no quarrel with the majority’s second step, the remainder of its analysis conflicts with Yung and misinterprets AEDPA.
The majority’s analysis distorts Yung. We held in Yung 'that it would be “an unreasonable interpretation of Waller or, at a minimum, an unreasonable failure to extend Waller, not to require a heightened showing before excluding family members.” Yung, 296 F.3d at 136. We did so because we found Waller was informed by In re Oliver, 333 U.S. 257, 68 S.Ct. 499, 92 L.Ed. 682 (1948), in which the Supreme Court noted in dicta that “without exception all courts have held that an accused is at the very least entitled to have his friends, relatives and counsel present, no matter with what offense he may be charged.” Id. (quoting Oliver, 333 U.S. at 271-72, 68 S.Ct. 499). Building on this premise, we held that in applying the second prong of Waller — measuring the extent of the closure against the pertinent overriding interest — a court must require a “heightened showing” before expanding the extent of the closure to family members. Id.
The majority contends that the trial court’s consideration of Mrs. Sevencan’s request to be admitted is a heightened showing. This focus on the state court’s thought process conflicts with Yung, which requires the prosecution to make a heightened showing to justify the exclusion of family members. Because the trial court’s consideration of a request to be admitted does not constitute a showing, it does not satisfy Yung.
The majority posits that Waller can be reasonably interpreted to allow the exclusion of family members based on the same showing that would justify excluding the ordinary curious onlooker. It claims that requiring a heightened showing would alter the Waller standard. I do not agree. Waller’s core is the requirement that a trial court balance the overriding interest established by the prosecution against the extent of the closure. 467 U.S. at 48, 104 S.Ct. 2210 (“the closure must be no broader than necessary to protect that interest”). In Yung, we recognized that it would be an unreasonable application of Waller or an unreasonable failure to extend it not to assess the breadth of the closure in terms both of its length and of “the portion of the public to be excluded.” Yung, 296 F.3d at 136. Because Waller imposes a balancing test, it is clear that some closures will require a more substantial showing of a threat to the relevant overriding interest than others. Precluding family members from attending an accused’s trial is such a closure.
In effect, the majority’s view allows no consideration under Waller.of the reasonableness of the state court’s decision to exclude family members as long as (1) the prosecution’s evidentiary showing was sufficient to exclude the general public and (2) the state court is aware that a family member wishes to be admitted. This restriction on the habeas court’s review pow*93er conflicts with AEDPA, which allows the grant of the writ if a state court adjudication “resulted in a decision that was based on an unreasonable determination of the facts in light of the evidence presented in the state court proceeding.” 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)(2). While an evidentiary showing that justifies exclusion of the general public may justify exclusion of family members in some cases, it will not always do so. The majority’s analysis will lead ineluctably to the exclusion of an accused’s closest family members, those who are most likely to offer the accused support at trial, even where those family members pose no threat to the interest advanced to support closure. This, I believe, is an unreasonable interpretation of Waller, which requires weighing the extent of any closure against the overriding interest at stake.2 See Waller, 467 U.S. at 48, 104 S.Ct. 2210.
CONCLUSION
I am hard put to understand why the majority chose this case, which presents no difficult question, to limit Yung in a way that is unnecessary for resolution of the appeal. In any case, because I believe the majority opinion is directly at odds with Yung, I can concur only in the judgment.

. Like the majority I find it unnecessary to consider whether Sevencan’s claim is procedurally barred in light of its lack of merit.

. I also question whether the majority’s restricted interpretation of Waller and Yung will ever allow a habeas petitioner to rely on the exclusion of family members as a ground for relief. Ultimately the majority relies on the state court’s awareness that a family member is in the courtroom. However, if the trial court is unaware of the family member's presence, it will be because petitioner failed to alert the court. In this event, we will find the claim procedurally barred.