Public trial
Encyclopedia
Public trial or open trial is a trial
open to public, as opposed to the secret trial
. The term should not be confused with show trial
.
establishes the right of the accused to a public trial.
The right to a public trial is strictly enforced, but is not absolute. Trials may in exceptional cases be regulated. Closures are decided case-by-case by the judge evaluating a claimed danger to a substantial or legitimate public interest. But whatever the interest at stake, the likelihood of danger to that interest must meet a “‘substantial probability’ test." Examples of cases presenting closure issues include organized crime
cases (overall security concerns), rape
cases (decency concerns), juvenile
cases.", and through the Silent witness rule
and/or Classified Information Procedures Act
, cases involving sensitive or 'classified
' information.
Trials may be closed at the behest of the government only if it can show "an overriding interest based on findings that closure is essential to preserve higher values and is narrowly tailored to serve that interest." The accused may also request a closure of the trial; in such a case, it must be demonstrated that "first, there is a substantial probability that the defendant's right to a fair trial will be prejudiced by publicity that closure would prevent, and second, reasonable alternatives to closure cannot adequately protect the defendant's fair trial rights."
But before a judge can close a courtroom, the judge must consider all potential alternatives to closure. This is a very strict standard: "trial courts are required to consider alternatives to closure even when they are not offered by the parties," or by anyone else. In other words, a judge who does not want to be reversed on appeal must be confident that there cannot possibly be any alternative to closure that might later be conjured up by some appellate lawyer.
the terms "open trial" (открытый процесс) and "public trial" (публичный процесс) differed. The term "open trial" implied the possibility for public to be present at the hearings. The term "public trial" implied the purposeful presentation of the process to wide public. Public trials were usually widely discussed in media and hearings were often arranged in larger auditoria. While the Soviet public trials are commonly associated with Stalin era show trials, such as Moscow Trials
, nevertheless in Russian culture
the term "public trial" did not acquire negative connotations, despite the apparent attributes of a show, primarily because the publicity of any information in pre-glasnost
era was severely limited by the Soviet state. The term "show trial" corresponds to Russian "показной процесс", (pokaznoy process).
Trial (law)
In law, a trial is when parties to a dispute come together to present information in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court...
open to public, as opposed to the secret trial
Secret trial
A secret trial is a trial that is not open to the public, nor generally reported in the news, especially any in-trial proceedings. Generally no official record of the case or the judge's verdict is made available. Often there is no indictment...
. The term should not be confused with show trial
Show trial
The term show trial is a pejorative description of a type of highly public trial in which there is a strong connotation that the judicial authorities have already determined the guilt of the defendant. The actual trial has as its only goal to present the accusation and the verdict to the public as...
.
United States
The Sixth Amendment to the United States ConstitutionSixth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution is the part of the United States Bill of Rights which sets forth rights related to criminal prosecutions...
establishes the right of the accused to a public trial.
The right to a public trial is strictly enforced, but is not absolute. Trials may in exceptional cases be regulated. Closures are decided case-by-case by the judge evaluating a claimed danger to a substantial or legitimate public interest. But whatever the interest at stake, the likelihood of danger to that interest must meet a “‘substantial probability’ test." Examples of cases presenting closure issues include organized crime
Organized crime
Organized crime or criminal organizations are transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals for the purpose of engaging in illegal activity, most commonly for monetary profit. Some criminal organizations, such as terrorist organizations, are...
cases (overall security concerns), rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
cases (decency concerns), juvenile
Minor (law)
In law, a minor is a person under a certain age — the age of majority — which legally demarcates childhood from adulthood; the age depends upon jurisdiction and application, but is typically 18...
cases.", and through the Silent witness rule
Silent witness rule
The silent witness rule is the use of 'substitutions' when referring to sensitive information in the United States open courtroom jury trial system. The phrase was first used in US v. Zettl, in 1987. An example of a substitution method is the use of code-words on a 'key card', to which witnesses...
and/or Classified Information Procedures Act
Classified Information Procedures Act
The Classified Information Procedures Act or , is codified as the third appendix to Title18 of the U.S. Code, the title concerning crimes and criminal procedures. The U.S. Code citation is .-Legislative Revision History:...
, cases involving sensitive or 'classified
Classified
Classified may refer to:*Classified information, sensitive information to which access is restricted by law or regulation to particular classes of people*Classified advertising*Classified , rapper from Halifax, Nova Scotia...
' information.
Trials may be closed at the behest of the government only if it can show "an overriding interest based on findings that closure is essential to preserve higher values and is narrowly tailored to serve that interest." The accused may also request a closure of the trial; in such a case, it must be demonstrated that "first, there is a substantial probability that the defendant's right to a fair trial will be prejudiced by publicity that closure would prevent, and second, reasonable alternatives to closure cannot adequately protect the defendant's fair trial rights."
But before a judge can close a courtroom, the judge must consider all potential alternatives to closure. This is a very strict standard: "trial courts are required to consider alternatives to closure even when they are not offered by the parties," or by anyone else. In other words, a judge who does not want to be reversed on appeal must be confident that there cannot possibly be any alternative to closure that might later be conjured up by some appellate lawyer.
Soviet Union
In Soviet UnionSoviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
the terms "open trial" (открытый процесс) and "public trial" (публичный процесс) differed. The term "open trial" implied the possibility for public to be present at the hearings. The term "public trial" implied the purposeful presentation of the process to wide public. Public trials were usually widely discussed in media and hearings were often arranged in larger auditoria. While the Soviet public trials are commonly associated with Stalin era show trials, such as Moscow Trials
Moscow Trials
The Moscow Trials were a series of show trials conducted in the Soviet Union and orchestrated by Joseph Stalin during the Great Purge of the 1930s. The victims included most of the surviving Old Bolsheviks, as well as the leadership of the Soviet secret police...
, nevertheless in Russian culture
Russian culture
Russian culture is associated with the country of Russia and, sometimes, specifically with ethnic Russians. It has a rich history and can boast a long tradition of excellence in every aspect of the arts, especially when it comes to literature and philosophy, classical music and ballet, architecture...
the term "public trial" did not acquire negative connotations, despite the apparent attributes of a show, primarily because the publicity of any information in pre-glasnost
Glasnost
Glasnost was the policy of maximal publicity, openness, and transparency in the activities of all government institutions in the Soviet Union, together with freedom of information, introduced by Mikhail Gorbachev in the second half of the 1980s...
era was severely limited by the Soviet state. The term "show trial" corresponds to Russian "показной процесс", (pokaznoy process).
See Also
- Silent witness ruleSilent witness ruleThe silent witness rule is the use of 'substitutions' when referring to sensitive information in the United States open courtroom jury trial system. The phrase was first used in US v. Zettl, in 1987. An example of a substitution method is the use of code-words on a 'key card', to which witnesses...
- Classified Information Procedures ActClassified Information Procedures ActThe Classified Information Procedures Act or , is codified as the third appendix to Title18 of the U.S. Code, the title concerning crimes and criminal procedures. The U.S. Code citation is .-Legislative Revision History:...
- United States v. Franklin
- Thomas Andrews DrakeThomas Andrews DrakeThomas Andrews Drake is a former senior official of the U.S. National Security Agency , decorated United States Air Force and United States Navy veteran, computer software expert, linguist, management and leadership specialist, and whistleblower. In 2010 the government alleged that he 'mishandled'...