People v. Ramey

Defendant Jonathan Ramey was convicted by a jury of aggravated criminal sexual assault (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1985, ch. 38, par. 12—14(a)(2)) and sentenced to 12 years in the custody of the Illinois Department of Corrections.

On appeal Ramey raises four issues, the first of which charges that he was denied his sixth amendment right to a public trial, requiring reversal and a remand for a new trial. During the trial, just prior to closing arguments, the trial judge, sua sponte, had the microphones of the public address system turned off in the courtroom. For security reasons, there was a substantial…