Public Trial in the United States
Public Trial Definition
A trial which, under reasonable limitations, the public are freely admitted to attend. The attendance may be limited to the reasonable seating capacity of the courtroom (…), and persons whose attendance as a class would probably tend to disorder may be excluded (…), but the exclusion of all persons except officers of the court is a violation of the right to a public trial (…), as is an order to an officer to admit only “respectable persons,” where it appears that proper persons were excluded (…).
“The requirement of a public trial is for the benefit of the accused, that the public may see he is fairly dealt with, and not unjustly condemned, and that the presence of interested spectators may keep his triers keenly alive to a sense of their responsibility and to the importance of their functions; and the requirement is fairly observed if, without partiality or favoritism, a reasonable proportion of the public is suffered to attend, notwithstanding that those persons whose presence could be of no service to the accused, and who would only be drawn thither by a prurient curiosity, are excluded altogether.” Gooley, Const. Lim. *312. (1)
Public Trial and the United States Constitution
The 6th Amendment says that a trial must also be public. The right to be tried in public is also part of the 14th Amendment’s guarantee of procedural due process.
A trial must not be too speedy or too public, however. The Supreme Court threw out an Arkansas murder conviction in 1923 on just those grounds. The trial had taken only 45 minutes, and it had been held in a courtroom packed by a threatening mob.
Within reason, a judge can limit both the number and the kinds of spectators who may be present at a trial. Those who seek to disrupt a courtroom can be barred from it. A judge can order a courtroom cleared when the expected testimony can embarrass a witness or someone not a party to the case.
Many of the questions about how public a trial should be involve the media–especially newspapers and television. The guarantees of fair trial and free press, however, often collide in the courts. On the one hand, a courtroom is a public place where the media have a right to be present. On the other hand, media coverage can jeopardize the right to a fair trial.
Champions of the public’s right to know hold that the courts must allow the broadest possible press coverage of a trial. The Supreme Court has often held, however, that the media have only the same right as the general public to be present in a courtroom. The right to a public trial belongs to the defendant, not to the media.
What of televised trials? Television cameras are barred from all federal courtrooms. Most States do allow some form of in-court television reporting, however. Does televising a criminal trial violate a defendant’s rights?
In an early major case, Estes v. Texas, 1965, the Supreme Court reversed the conviction of an oil man charged with swindling billions of dollars. Radio and television coverage of his trial had been allowed from within the courtroom, over his objection. The Court found that the media coverage had been so
“circus-like” and so disruptive that Estes had been denied his right to a fair trial.
Sixteen years later, the Court held in Chandler v. Florida, 1981, that nothing in the Constitution prevents a State from allowing the televising of a criminal trial. At least, televising is not prohibited as long as steps are taken to avoid too much publicity and to protect the defendant’s rights.
According to the Encyclopedia of the American Constitution, in all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial.” The language of the Sixth Amendment appears to assure that criminal courtrooms in the United States will be open-that there will be no secret trials.
The Right to a Speedy and Public Trial Explained
References
See Also
- Criminal Law
- Criminal Procedure
Resources
Notes and References
- This definition of Public Trial Is based on the The Cyclopedic Law Dictionary
See Also
Speed Trial
Trial by Jury
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