Exclusion of witnesses and the press during testimony

Exclusion of witnesses and the press during testimony

Despite heated challenges by members of the media and other interested parties, the right of the defendant to exclude individuals from the preliminary hearing has been upheld by the United States Supreme Court. Limits on this right have also resulted from state legislation. Therefore, where a jurisdiction's statutes so provide, all individuals except officers of the court, attorneys in the case, and the accused may be excluded.FN6 If counsel believes that prejudicial pretrial publicity is likely to result from the admission of the press to the preliminary hearing, he or she will be well advised to exercise the right to exclude these witnesses. In some jurisdictions, the prosecution may also exclude witnesses.FN7