State v. Torres

OPINION

FLAHERTY, Justice.

In this appeal, we are called upon to determine whether the intentional exclusion of the defendant’s family members from the courtroom during jury selection violated the defendant’s right to a public trial. Because we believe the trial justice’s actions impermissibly and adversely impacted the defendant’s rights under the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution, we sustain his appeal, reverse the judgment of the Superior Court, and remand this matter for a new trial.. In the early morning hours of August 14, 1999 at Club Fusion, a Providence night spot,…