State v. Loukaitis

In Press-Enterprise Co. v. Superior Court, 478 U.S. 1, 13, 106 S. Ct. 2735, 92 L. Ed. 2d 1 (1986), the United States Supreme Court held that a qualified First Amendment right of access attaches to preliminary hearings. To deny that right of access a trial court must make specific findings clearly showing the need for closure. In this aggravated first degree murder case, the court closed a juvenile declination hearing just before a psychiatric expert retained by Barry D. Loukaitis was about to express opinions prepared in anticipation of that proceeding. The question presented here is whether…