Opinion
May 1, 1997
Supreme Court, Bronx County (John Moore, J.).
As the People commendably concede, the trial court erred when, over specific objection, it excluded all spectators, including defendant's girlfriend, from the courtroom during the testimony of one of the arresting police officers who, sometime subsequent to the incident herein, had been assigned to undercover work in Queens. Only three months earlier, defendant's girlfriend had observed the same witness testify in open court during a pre-trial suppression hearing. Upon our own review of the record, it is clear that the People failed to make a "`factual showing that an exception to the norm of a public trial [is] justified.'" ( People v. Martinez, 82 N.Y.2d 436, 442, quoting People v. Jones, 47 N.Y.2d 409, 415, cert denied 444 U.S. 946.)
In reversing for the reason stated, we reach no other issue.
Concur — Sullivan, J.P., Milonas, Nardelli, Williams and Mazzarelli, JJ.