People v. Tucker

Defendant’s right to a public trial was not violated by the court’s partial closure of the courtroom during the testimony of the "ghost” undercover officer. In a hearing held pursuant to People v Hinton (31 NY2d 71, cert denied 410 US 911), the officer’s testimony established that he expected to return to the specific area of defendant’s arrest in an undercover capacity, that he still had pending cases from prior arrests made in that area, and that he feared for his own safety and that of other undercover officers if his identity were known (see, People v Martinez, 82 NY2d 436, 440, 443;…