Rule 10.3 - Presence of Witnesses and Spectators(a) Witnesses. Pursuant to Rule 615 of the Mississippi Rules of Evidence, the court may, and at the request of either party shall, exclude prospective witnesses from the courtroom. The court also shall direct witnesses not to communicate with each other concerning the case until all have testified. If the court finds that a party's claim that a person is a prospective witness is not made in good faith, the person may be allowed to remain in the courtroom. Once a witness has testified on direct examination and has been made available to all parties for cross-examination and excused by the court, the witness shall be allowed to remain in the courtroom unless the court finds, upon application of a party or witness, that the presence of the witness would be prejudicial to a fair trial. This Rule does not authorize excluding a person whose presence a party shows to be essential to presenting the party's claim or defense.(b) Spectators. (1) Proceedings to be Open. All proceedings shall be open to the public unless the court finds, upon application of the defendant, that an open proceeding presents a danger to the defendant's right to a fair trial by an impartial jury.(2) Exception for Certain Crimes. Pursuant to Article 3, Section 26 of the Mississippi Constitution, the court may exclude from the courtroom all persons except those necessary in the conduct of the trial.(3) Victims. Pursuant to Article 3, Section 26A of the Mississippi Constitution, the alleged victim has the right to be present throughout all criminal proceedings when authorized by law. If the alleged victim is a witness, then Rule 10.3(a) controls.(c) Removal. Any or all individuals may be removed from the courtroom for engaging in disorderly, disruptive, or contemptuous conduct, or when their conduct or presence constitutes a threat or menace to the court, parties, attorneys, witnesses, jurors, officials, members of the public, or a fair trial.(d) Electronic Coverage of Proceedings. Electronic coverage of judicial proceedings shall be governed by the Mississippi Rules for Electronic and Photographic Coverage of Judicial Proceedings.Comment
Rule 10.3(a) is consistent with Rule 615 of the Mississippi Rules of Evidence. The policy underlying the sequestration rule is that, by preventing a witness from hearing the testimony of another witness, the risk of fabrication, collusion, inaccuracy, and shaping of testimony is minimized. Because it is only at the designated phases where exclusion promotes the truth-finding process, prospective witnesses are permitted to attend during other phases, such as jury selection and legal argument. It is believed that the rule harmonizes the interest of a fair trial with the interest of witnesses in being personally present at the trial. The trial court retains discretion to exclude witnesses from the courtroom in those rare cases where it can be demonstrated that a fair trial cannot be held without such exclusion.
Rule 10.3(b)(1) sets forth the right of a defendant to a public trial as guaranteed by Article 3, Section 26, of the Mississippi Constitution, and subsection (b)(2) sets forth the exception for certain crimes contained therein. Rule 10.3(b)(3) embodies an alleged victim's right to be present set forth in Article 3, Section 26A, of the Mississippi Constitution and Mississippi Code Section 99-43-21. Mississippi Code Section 99-43-3(t) defines "victim" to mean "a person against whom the criminal offense has been committed, or if the person is deceased or incapacitated, the lawful representative." Mississippi Code Section 99-43-3(h) defines "criminal proceeding" as "a hearing, argument or other matter scheduled by and held before a trial court but does not include a lineup, grand jury proceeding or other matter not held in the presence of the court."
Section (c) gives the judge clear authority to clear the courtroom of any and all persons whose conduct is disruptive of the proceedings or whose presence poses a threat to others or to the proceedings.