United States v. Yazzie, No. 12-10165 (9th Cir. 2014)
Annotate this CaseDefendants appealed their convictions for aggravated sexual abuse of a minor. Applying the test set out in Waller v. Georgia, the court concluded that defendants' Sixth Amendment rights to a public trial were not violated when the district court closed the courtroom while the child victims were testifying; the closure at Defendant Yazzie's trial did not violate the statutory provision permitting a closed courtroom during the testimony of a child witness; and Yazzie's multiple convictions under 18 U.S.C. 2241(c) for discrete sexual acts that occurred during one sexual encounter with the victim did not violate the Double Jeopardy Clause. Accordingly, the court affirmed the judgment of the district court.
Court Description: Criminal Law. Affirming two defendants’ convictions for aggravated sexual abuse of a minor, the panel held that the district court did not violate the defendants’ Sixth Amendment rights to a public trial when it closed the courtroom while the child victims were testifying. The panel also held that the closure of Yazzie’s trial did not violate the requirements of 18 U.S.C. § 3509(e), which permits a closed courtroom during the testimony of a child witness. The panel concluded that Yazzie’s multiple convictions under 18 U.S.C. § 2241(c) for discrete sexual acts that occurred during one sexual encounter with the victim do not violate the Double Jeopardy Clause.
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