People v. Smith

—Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Edwin Torres, J.), rendered May 8, 1998, convicting defendant, after a jury trial, of two counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree, and sentencing him to concurrent terms of imprisonment of 1 to 3 years, unanimously affirmed.

At issue is the closure of the courtroom during the testimony of the undercover officer. Counsel for codefendant Darnell Manning stated that his client’s aunts should be permitted to be present while the officer was on the stand. After the court denied the application, defendant’s attorney stated that…