Waller v. Georgia

In Waller v. Georgia (1984), 467 U.S. 39, 49-50, 104 S.Ct. 2210, 81 L.Ed.2d 31, the court held that in order to justify closure of a hearing in a criminal case, "the party seeking to close the hearing must advance an overriding interest that is likely to be prejudiced, the closure must be no broader than necessary to protect that interest, the trial court must consider reasonable alternatives to closing the proceeding, and it must make findings adequate to support the closure." 467 U.S. at 48, 104 S.Ct. 2210, 81 L.Ed.2d 31. The Waller Court held that a suppression hearing was improperly closed. The remedy, however, was not a new trial, but a new suppression hearing. Where, however, a new hearing will not materially change the position of the parties, there is no need for either a new hearing or a new trial. State v. Bethel, 110 Ohio St. 3d 416, 2006 Ohio 4853, 854 N.E.2d 150, citing Waller, 467 U.S. at 49, 104 S.Ct. 2210, 81 L.Ed.2d 31. In such instances, a new hearing would be an empty formality; a new trial would be a "windfall." Id.