People v. Gutierez

OPINION OF THE COURT

Memorandum.

The order of the Appellate Division should be reversed and a new trial ordered. Defendant was convicted, after a jury trial, of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree. On appeal, defendant challenges the court’s closure of the trial to the public during the undercover officer’s testimony. The trial court erred in excluding defendant’s family members from the courtroom. The record indicates that the trial court’s closure of the courtroom excluding defendant’s close family members was broader than constitutionally tolerable and, thus,…