Washington V. Bone-Club

DOLLIVER, J.--This case presents a matter of first impression regarding a trial court's responsibility to protect a defendant's right to a public trial under article I, section 22 of the Washington Constitution in the face of the State's motion for full closure of a criminal hearing. We hold a trial court must apply the closure test previously articulated by this court in Allied Daily Newspapers v. Eikenberry, 121 Wash. 2d 205, 210, 848 P.2d 1258 (1993) and related cases. By failing to engage in this case-by-case weighing of the competing interests before ordering the temporary, full closure of a pretrial suppression hearing, the trial court here violated Defendant's public trial right. The case is reversed and remanded for a new trial.