Anthony Wayne Crutcher Jr. v. Commonwealth of Kentucky

Summary

The Kentucky Supreme Court affirmed Anthony Wayne Crutcher Jr.'s convictions for first-degree robbery and first-degree persistent felony offender status. The court held that Crutcher waived his public-trial claim by failing to object when spectators were excluded during the victim's testimony. The court also upheld the admission of the photo identification, concluding that the lineup was not impermissibly suggestive.

Holdings

1. A criminal defendant may waive the right to a public trial, or waive the right to complain on appeal about a courtroom closure, by failing to object to the closure, even when the trial court did not conduct the Waller analysis.
2. The trial court did not abuse its discretion in finding that the photo lineup was not unduly or impermissibly suggestive and in denying Crutcher's motion to suppress.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Crutcher waived his right to a public trial by failing to object when the trial court excluded spectators during the victim's testimony.
2. Whether the trial court erred in denying Crutcher's motion to suppress the out-of-court photo identification as impermissibly suggestive.

Disposition

affirmed