New York Court of Appeals, 1995

People v. Gutierez

New York Court of Appeals · Decided September 19, 1995 · Kaye and Judges Simons, Titone, Bellacosa, Smith, Levine and Ciparick Concur in Memorandum

657 N.E.2d 491; 86 N.Y.2d 817; 633 N.Y.S.2d 470; 1995 N.Y. LEXIS 2750 (North Eastern Reporter, Second Series)

Cases that cite this one

39 later published cases cite this decision. The 25 that cite it most often are listed here.

Downs v. Lape (2d Cir. 2011)
Thomas Garcia v. Hazel Lewis, Superintendent, Hale Creek Correctional Facility (2d Cir. 1999)
Andre Brown v. Robert Kuhlmann, Superintendent of Sullivan Correctional Facility (2d Cir. 1998)
People v. Nieves (N.Y. 1997)
People v. K.U. (New York Supreme Court 2012)
People v. Alvarez (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 2008)
People v. Feliciano (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 1996)
People v. Hector (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 2006)
People v. Nazario (N.Y. 2005)
People v. Ward (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 2004)
People v. Millan (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 2003)
People v. Brann (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 2002)
People v. Richardson (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 2002)
People v. Lanhorn (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 2001)
People v. Blake (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 2001)
People v. Rivera (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 2001)
People v. Rivera (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 2001)
People v. Gonzalez (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 1999)
People v. Perez (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 1998)
People v. Rentas (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 1998)
People v. Glover (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 1998)
People v. Hok Ming Chan (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 1997)
People v. Gayle (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 1997)
People v. Scott (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 1997)
People v. Pryor (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York 1997)

This list shows which later cases cite this one. It does not say how they treated it, and no review of that has been done. Not a substitute for Shepard’s or KeyCite — verify before relying.

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

Memorandum.

The order of the Appellate Division should be reversed and a new trial ordered. Defendant was convicted, after a jury trial, of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree. On appeal, defendant challenges the court’s closure of the trial to the public during the undercover officer’s testimony. The trial court erred in excluding defendant’s family members from the courtroom. The record indicates that the trial court’s closure of the courtroom excluding defendant’s close family members was broader than constitutionally tolerable and, thus, constituted a violation of defendant’s overriding right to a public trial (see, People v Martinez, 82 NY2d 436, 444; People v Kin Kan, 78 NY2d 54, 58; see also, Vidal v Williams, 31 F3d 67, 69). Although the undercover officer indicated that he feared his life and ongoing drug investigations would be jeopardized, he never claimed to hold those fears with respect to defendant’s wife and children and did not otherwise advance any valid ground for excluding defendant’s family during the officer’s testimony.

Chief Judge Kaye and Judges Simons, Titone, Bellacosa, Smith, Levine and Ciparick concur in memorandum.

On review of submissions pursuant to section 500.4 of the Rules of the Court of Appeals (22 NYCRR 500.4), order reversed, etc.

Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.