Sixth Amendment rights

The judge presiding over the fatal Colorado movie theater shooting case granted the release of about three dozen relevant court documents on Monday, but kept many of the records under seal.

A judge erred when he excluded a criminal defendant’s family from jury selection, Texas’ highest court for criminal cases recently ruled.

The state Court of Criminal Appeals remanded the child sexual assault case to the lower court for a new trial, finding that the error violated defendant Jeffrey Steadman’s constitutional right to a public trial. A jury convicted Steadman of aggravated sexual assault of a child younger than 14 and indecency with a child.

The restriction of a criminal defendant’s cross-examination of a reporter who invoked his privilege not to testify, but was compelled to do so anyway, violated the defendant’s constitutional right to confront witnesses against him, a federal appellate court ruled earlier this week.

A New York Supreme Court judge in Brooklyn ruled in early January that the New York Daily News must disclose to the court in chambers the source of information related to the case, despite the state's shield law, which provides journalists with the privilege to protect the anonymity of sources. In New York, the Supreme Court is a trial-level court.

The Massachusetts Appeals Court ruled last week that a trial court's questioning of potential jurors in the judge's chambers constituted a potentially impermissible closure of court proceedings to the public. However, the court sent the appeal back to the trial court to determine whether the defendant had waived his right to a public trial.

The U.S. Court of Appeals in New York (2nd Cir.) heard oral arguments Tuesday in a case that could affect whether reporters can refuse to testify about their sources.