Oahu Publications Inc. v. Ahn.

Opinion of the Court by

POLLACK, J.

This case requires us to address the procedures that a court must undertake to protect the constitutional right of the public to attend criminal trials while also protecting a defendant’s potentially countervailing constitutional right to a fair and impartial jury. Additionally, we address the procedures that a court is required to follow before denying public access to a transcript of a closed proceeding.

These important issues arise out of petitions for writs of prohibition and mandamus by Oahu Publications Inc., dba The Honolulu Star-Advertiser (Honolulu…