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State v. Lane12/12/1979
LOCHER, J.
The issues to be resolved in this case are three-fold. Succinctly stated, they are: Whether an inmate of a maximum security penitentiary, who is tried in an improvised courtroom within that same correctional institution for an offense committed while serving a sentence within the confines of that same penitentiary, is denied (1) the constitutional right to a fair trial; (2) the constitutional right to a public trial; and (3) the constitutional right to equal protection of the laws.
It is initially noted that, although prisoners in state penal institutions necessarily lose some rights as a result of their conviction and incarceration, they retain certain constitutional rights not necessarily diminished by the necessity of their imprisonment. Pell v. Procunier (1974), 417 U.S. 817.
By holding a trial within a prison for an offense committed within that same institution, the constitutional right to a fair trial is abridged in three ways: (1) The presumption of innocence which must attach to the criminal defendant is eroded; (2) there is a major interference with the jury's ability to remain impartial; and (3) the right of the defendant to obtain witnesses is chilled.
The United States Supreme Court, in In re Murchison (1955), 349 U.S. 133, discussed, at page 136, the constitutional requirements concerning the right to a fair trial:
"A fair trial in a fair tribunal is a basic requirement of due process. Fairness of course requires an absence of actual bias in the trial of cases. But our system of law has always endeavored to prevent even the probability of unfairness. * * * But to perform its high function in the best was`justice must satisfy the appearance of justice.' Offutt v. United States, 348 U.S. 11, 14." (Emphasis added.)
The presumption of innocence of the accused in a criminal prosecution is a basic component of a fair trial in the criminal justice system. Coffin v. United States (1895), 156 U.S. 432, 453. It is the duty of our courts to guard against factors which may undermine the fairness of the fact-finding process and thereby dilute the right to the presumption of innocence. To implement the presumption courts must be alert to factors that may undermine the fairness of the fact-finding process. Estelle v. Williams (1976), 425 U.S. 501, 503. These protections are extended to all criminal defendants even those who happen to be prison inmates. See Wolff v. McDonnell (1974), 418 U.S. 539.
It is well established that the mere probability of deleterious effects on fundamental rights calls for close judicial scrutiny. See Estes v. Texas (1965), 381 U.S. 532. The prison environment which is laden with a sense of punishment of the guilty within transmits too great an impression of guilt on the part of the inmate who is on trial.
The Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Section 10 of Article I of the Ohio Constitution guarantee every accused in a criminal proceeding the right to be tried by an impartial jury. This court does not believe that a trial within a maximum security penitentiary with 12-foot high double walls, armed guards, high guard towers and visible barred windows allows a jury to maintain the delicate posture of impartiality which is a mainstay of our judicial system.
The United States Supreme Court, in Frank v. Mangum (1915), 237 U.S. 309, noted, at page 349, that "* * * ny judge who has sat with juries knows that in spite of forms they are extremely likely to be impregnated by the environing atmosphere." The exercise of calm, informed judgment by members of the jury is essential to the proper enforcem
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