Courtroom closing complaint delivered
Letters of complaint about U. S. District Judge Howell Cobb's conduct of James Wade's drug trafficking trial have been sent to Cobb and two administrative judges by a journalists' organization.
Cobb's closing of his courtroom last week before hearing testimony from Hardin County Sheriff H. R. "Mike" Holzapfel was the subject of protest in the registered letters sent this week to Cobb and federal judges William Wayne
Justice of Tyler and Charles Clark of Jackson, Miss., said Ira Perry of The Houston Post, regional director of the society of Professional Journalists, Sigma Delta Chi.
Justice is chief judge of the Eastern Judicial District of Texas, which includes Cobb's' court, while Clark is chief judge of the Fifth Circuit if the federal judiciary.
Cobb has been asked to make a transcript available of the Holzapfel's testimony, Perry said. The letter sent to the judges points out that Cobb's clearing of a criminal courtroom without considering the facts at issue or conducting a hearing was in violation of U. S. Supreme Court decisions governing the conduct of federal criminal trials, Perry said.
Cobb's action was "patently offensive and contrary to precedent," Perry said.
During the first week of testimony, Holzapfel was on the stand as a prosecution witness, undergoing cross examination. Asked a question, Holzapfel said he was not certain he could answer because the question involved a pending criminal case in state courts. Cobb, saying he did not want to interfere with a state case, then cleared the courtroom of all spectators and media representatives.
Te judge refused to comment on his action and when told by a reporter that a complaint would be fled regarding the act, reportedly responded, "Please do so."
According to Perry, Supreme Court guidelines are clear that criminal trials are open to the public and testimony may be taken in secret only after a hearing has been held to determine the merits of closing the court.
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