Goston v. State

Melvin Mayfield, Judge.

Appellant Lee Goston was found guilty by a jury of the second-degree battery of a police officer and sentenced to six years in the Arkansas Department of Correction. Appellant was excluded from the courtroom during the trial and denied the right to represent himself because, in the 60 days preceding this trial, he had been violent and disruptive in court several times. On appeal he argues that (1) the trial judge erred by excluding him from the courtroom during his jury trial in violation of his constitutional right to be present and to confront the witnesses against…