People v. Jones

OPINION OF THE COURT

Fuchsberg, J.

This appeal centers on the constitutional guarantee that an "accused shall enjoy the right to a * * * public trial” (US Const, 6th & 14th Arndts; see, also, Civil Rights Law, § 12; Judiciary Law, § 4).1

Specifically, the issues presented for our determination are *412(1) whether the defendant’s right to a public trial was abridged when the Trial Judge without further inquiry acceded to the prosecuting attorney’s request that the court be closed to the public during the testimony of a witness alleged to be an undercover police officer and (2), if it was, whether the…