In this month’s column, we address a trio of decisions discussing the ability of a trial court to close the courtroom during a criminal proceeding to protect the identity of testifying undercover police officers. We also discuss a case in which the court clarified the standard to be applied in determining when a parent can be found to have engaged in "severe abuse" of a child under the Social Services Law. In addition, we describe the court’s answer to a question certified by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit concerning the ability of a creditor to obtain turnover pursuant to CPLR §5225(b) from the parent company of an entity in actual possession of a judgment debtor’s funds. Finally, we note that with the confirmation of Judge Sheila Abdus-Salaam on May 6 the court is again complete.

Closing the Courtroom

Reflecting again the court’s more recent approach toward granting leave to hear criminal appeals that raise serious and recurring constitutional issues, the court decided three separate appeals in "buy and bust" cases, People v. Echevarria, People v. Moss and People v. Johnson. Each case raised the question of whether the trial court properly closed the courtroom to the public, with some narrow exceptions, during the trial testimony of undercover police officers. Concluding that the trial court satisfied the requirements of the Sixth Amendment right to a public trial of the defendants in Moss and Johnson, the court affirmed their convictions.

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