You are here: / / CLOSURE OF COURTROOM BASED UPON WITNESS’S FEAR WAS PROPER (FIRST...
,

CLOSURE OF COURTROOM BASED UPON WITNESS’S FEAR WAS PROPER (FIRST DEPT).

The First Department noted that the closure of the courtroom during a prosecution witness’s testimony was proper in this gang-related murder case:

​

The record established an overriding interest in partially, and later completely, closing the courtroom during the testimony of an identifying eyewitness (see Waller v Georgia, 467 US 39, 48 [1984]), and the other requirements of Waller were likewise satisfied as to both closures. The witness’s “extreme fear of testifying in open court was sufficient to establish an overriding interest” … , because the witness’s inability to testify without the closures at issue “could have severely undermined the truth seeking function of the court” … in this gang-related murder case. …

​

… [T]he court conducted a hearing at which the witness testified that he previously had been threatened for cooperating with the prosecution in another trial, that he had heard threats made against potential prosecution witnesses in the present case, and that he and his family lived in the same neighborhood where the shooting occurred. The court was entitled to credit the witness’s testimony that he felt threatened by defendant’s cousin and could not testify in his presence … . Although the cousin did not make any direct threats to the witness, he appeared to be closely associated with a person who did so. People v Sharp, 2018 NY Slip Op 00623, First Dept 2-1-18

CRIMINAL LAW (CLOSURE OF COURTROOM BASED UPON WITNESS’S FEAR WAS PROPER (FIRST DEPT))/CLOSURE OF COURTROOM (CRIMINAL LAW, CLOSURE OF COURTROOM BASED UPON WITNESS’S FEAR WAS PROPER (FIRST DEPT))/PUBLIC TRIAL (CRIMINAL LAW, CLOSURE OF COURTROOM BASED UPON WITNESS’S FEAR WAS PROPER (FIRST DEPT))/CONSTITUTIONAL LAW (CRIMINAL LAW, PUBLIC TRIAL, CLOSURE OF COURTROOM BASED UPON WITNESS’S FEAR WAS PROPER (FIRST DEPT))

You might also like
THE WORN MARBLE STAIRWAY TREAD WAS NOT AN ACTIONABLE DEFECT; DEFENDANT ENTITLED TO SUMMARY JUDGMENT IN THIS STAIRWAY SLIP AND FALL CASE (FIRST DEPT).
DEFENSE DID NOT OPEN THE DOOR TO HEARSAY EVIDENCE OF A CODEFENDANT’S CONVICTION; CRITERIA FOR BUSINESS RECORDS EXCEPTION TO HEARSAY RULE NOT MET; CONVICTIONS REVERSED.
COMMENTS ALLEGEDLY MADE BY A JUROR DURING DELIBERATIONS EXPRESSING ETHNIC BIAS REQUIRED A HEARING AND FINDINGS WHETHER DEFENDANT’S CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS, BOTH FEDERAL AND STATE, WERE VIOLATED (FIRST DEPT).
THE COMPLAINT, STEMMING FROM A FALL OFF A STRETCHER WHILE BEING POSITIONED FOR AN X-RAY, SOUNDED IN MEDICAL MALPRACTICE, NOT NEGLIGENCE, AND WAS THEREFORE UNTIMELY, PROPOSED NEGLIGENT HIRING CAUSE OF ACTION COULD NOT BE ADDED UNDER THE RELATION BACK DOCTRINE (FIRST DEPT).
Count (on which Jury Could Not Reach a Verdict) Dismissed Before “Entry of Sentence” on the Remaining Count Can Be Reprosecuted after Appeal
HOMEOWNER EXEMPTION APPLIED TO THE CHURCH IN THIS LABOR LAW 240 (1), 241 (6) AND 200 ACTION STEMMING FROM A FALL FROM A SCAFFOLD, FAILURE TO PLEAD THE EXEMPTION AS A DEFENSE DID NOT PRECLUDE RAISING IT IN A SUMMARY JUDGMENT MOTION, ARCHDIOCESE WAS NOT AN AGENT OF THE OWNER, NO LABOR LAW 200 LIABILITY BECAUSE PLAINTIFF’S EMPLOYER SUPERVISED AND CONTROLLED THE MEANS AND MANNER OF WORK (FIRST DEPT).
THREE-YEAR TIME LIMIT FOR STARTING EMINENT DOMAIN PROCEEDINGS AFTER A COURT CHALLENGE STARTS TO RUN WHEN THE COURT OF APPEALS DISMISSES THE APPEAL FROM THE APPELLATE DIVISION DECISION.
THE INDEMNIFICATION CLAUSE IN THIS LADDER-FALL CASE STATED THAT THE CONTRACTOR FOR WHOM THE INJURED PLAINTIFF WORKED WOULD HOLD THE “OWNER’S AGENT” HARMLESS AND DID NOT MENTION THE PROPERTY OWNER; THE CONTRACT MUST BE STRICTLY CONSTRUED; THE PROPERTY OWNER’S INDEMNIFICATION ACTION AGAINST THE CONTRACTOR SHOULD HAVE BEEN DISMISSED (FIRST DEPT). ​

Categories

Sign Up for the Mailing List to Be Notified When the Site Is Updated.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Copyright © 2026 New York Appellate Digest, Inc.
Site by CurlyHost | Privacy Policy

ALTHOUGH THE EMPLOYER HAD CAUSE TO FIRE CLAIMANT FOR TARDINESS AND ABSENCES,... DEFENDANT WAS NOT AFFORDED EFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE OF COUNSEL WHEN HE WAS TOLD...