6th Amendment Violation

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Nancy J. Pinno v. Patti Wachtendorf; Travis Seaton v. Judy P. Smith

Case No.: 15-3375; 15-3375

Officials: POSNER, EASTERBROOK, and SYKES, Circuit Judges

Focus: 6^th Amendment Violation

In Presley v. Georgia, 558 U.S. 209 (2010), the Supreme Court held that the right of a criminal defendant to a public trial, a right conferred by the Sixth Amendment, extends to the voir dire. Id. at 213–14. In the present case both petitioner‐appellants argue that this right was violated by the decision of the state trial judge (the same judge in both cases) to forbid members of the public to attend the voir dire phase of the petitioners’ trials in a Wisconsin state court that ended in their being convicted. After the Wisconsin Supreme Court, rejecting the petitioners’ Sixth Amendment argument, affirmed their convictions and sentences, they asked the local federal district court for habeas corpus. Both argued that they were entitled to a new trial because their Sixth Amendment rights had been violated. The district judge (the same judge in both habeas corpus proceedings) rejected their claims, awarding judgment for the respondents, who are the wardens of the prisons in which the petitioners are serving the sentences imposed on them by the state judiciary.

Affirmed

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Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.