People v. Kearse

— Judgment unanimously reversed on the law and new trial granted. Memorandum: Upon our review of the record, we conclude that defendant’s right to a public trial (US Const 6th Amend; Civil Rights Law § 12; Judiciary Law § 4) was abridged when the trial court, without further inquiry, acceded to the prosecutor’s request that the court be closed to the public during the testimony of an undercover police officer (see, People v Jones, 47 NY2d 409, cert denied 444 US 946). Although the right to a public trial is neither inflexible nor absolute, the discretion to limit the public nature of judicial…