Howard Pearson v. Charles James, Superintendent of Collins Correctional Facility

JON O. NEWMAN, Chief Judge:

In Ayala v. Speckard, 89 F.3d 91 (2d Cir.), modified on denial of rehearing, 102 F.3d 649 (2d Cir.1996), this Court ruled that a defendant’s constitutional right to a public trial is violated when a trial judge closes a courtroom for a valid reason but fails to consider, on his own motion, alternatives to closure that would adequately protect the state interest justifying the closure. That ruling governs this appeal by Howard Pearson from the October 26, 1995, judgment of the District Court for the Southern District of New York (Peter Leisure, District Judge)…