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Public Trial Resources

Resources on the Sixth Amendment right to a public trial. 

 
 Cases  Regulations  Law Review Articles  

Other Legal Sources  News Articles  Videos


CASES

  • Presley v. Georgia, 558 U.S. 209 (2010) (per curiam)

  • Waller v. Georgia, 467 U.S. 39 (1984) 

REGULATIONS

  • 28 CFR § 50.9 - Policy with regard to open judicial proceedings. 

LAW REVIEW ARTICLES

  • Stephen E. Smith, The Right to a Public Trial in the Time of COVID-19, 77 WASH. & LEE L. REV. ONLINE 1 (2020).

  • Department of Justice Journal of Federal Law and Practice, April 1, 2019.

  • Kristin Saetveit, Close Calls: Defining Courtroom Closures, 68 STAN. L.REV. 897 (2016).

  • Stephen E. Smith, The Right to a Public Trial and Closing the Courtroom to Disruptive Spectators, 93 WASH. U. L. REV. 235 (2015).

  • Daniel Levitas, Scaling Waller: How Courts Have Eroded the Sixth Amendment Public Trial Right, 59 Emory L. Rev. 493 (2009).

  • Lance R. Peterson, A First Amendment-Sixth Amendment Dilemma: Manuel Noriega Pushes the American Judicial System to the Outer Limits of the First Amendment, 25 J. Marshall L. Rev. 563 (1992).

  • Goundry, Frederick W. III (1990) "When Can the Courtroom Be Closed in Criminal Proceedings?," University of Baltimore Law Forum: Vol. 21: No. 1, Article 3. 

OTHER LEGAL SOURCES

  • Department of Justice Manual, § 9-5.150. 

NEWS ARTICLES

  • Judge Orders New Trial for Gigi Jordan in Son’s Killing, By Daniel E. Slotnik, The New York Times, September 25, 2020.

  • Coronavirus Containment Collides With U.S. Constitutional Rights, By Jordan S. Rubin, Bloomberg Law, March 31. 2020. 

VIDEOS

Constitutional Conversation: 6th Amendment - Speedy Trial and Public Trial, Impartial Jury​

Listen to scholars at James Madison's Montpelier discuss: How did the Founding Fathers define a speedy trial and why did they address how long it takes to have a trial? What is a public trial and how open should a trial be?

 

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Strengthening the Sixth

The Center for Justice Innovation is a training and technical assistance provider to the Bureau of Justice Assistance through the Justice for All program. The Center for Justice Innovation (the Center) and its partner are managing, enhancing, and expanding the Strengthening the Sixth website. For more information about the Center, visit www.innovatingjustice.org. The Strengthening the Sixth Website is supported by Grant No. 15PBJA-22-GK-01567-JAGJ awarded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance. The Bureau of Justice Assistance is a component of the Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs, which also includes the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the Office of Victims of Crimes, and the SMART Office. Points of view or opinions on this website do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. Neither the U.S. Department of Justice nor any of its components operate, control, are responsible for, or necessarily endorse this website, including, without limitations, its content, technical infrastructure, and policies, and any services or tools provided.