The Rights of the Press and the Closed Court Criminal Proceeding

I. Introduction II. Procedural Constitutional Rights: Procedural Due Process … A. The Application of Procedural Due Process Rights … B. The Scope of the Right … 1. "The private interest that will be affected by the official action" … 2. "The risk of an erroneous deprivation of such interest through the procedures used, and the probable value, if any, of additional or substitute procedural safeguards" … 3. "The government's interest, including the function involved and the fiscal and administrative burdens that the additional or substitute procedural requirement would entail" … C. Procedural Due Process: Conclusion III. Substantive Constitutional Rights … A. Closed Judicial Proceedings in Criminal Cases as Prior Restraints on News Reporting by the Media … 1. Prior Restraints on Media Reports Concerning Judicial Proceedings in Criminal Prosecutions Are Unconstitutional … 2. Closed Judicial Proceedings in Criminal Cases Constitute Prior Restraints on the Media … B. The Rights of the Public and the Press to Observe Judicial Proceedings in Criminal Cases: The Public Right to a Public Trial … 1. The Right … 2. The Extent of the Right: Pretrial Hearings … 3. The Right: Nebraska … 4. State v. Simants: Contrary Dictum in Nebraska … C. The Media's Right to Gather and the Public's Right to Receive Information … 1. The Right to Gather Information … 2. The Right to Receive Information … 3. The Effect of the Rights to Gather and Receive IV. Procedural and Substantive Constitutional Rights: The Burden of Proof … A. The Burden Is on Those Who Would Close the Court to Prove That There Are No Less Restrictive Alternatives … 1. Voir Dire … 2. Change of Venire … 3. Change of Venue … 4. Continuance … 5. Enforcement of Courtroom Decorum … 6. Sequestration of Jurors … 7. Judicial Instructions … 8. Control over Courtroom Personnel and Officers of the Court … 9. Mistrials, New Trials, and Reversals … 10. Other "Alternatives" … 11. Less Restrictive Alternatives: Conclusion … B. The Burden Is on Those Who Would Close the Court to Prove That Open Proceedings Would Result in Denial of Defendant's Rights … C. The Burden Is on Those Who Would Close the Court to Prove That the Closing Will Protect Defendant's Rights V. Conclusion