Colorado Politics: Colorado’s second-highest court confirmed for the third time last week that an Alamosa County judge violated a defendant’s constitutional right to a public trial, which requires the reversal of his convictions.

The unusual number of opinions in Gilberto Andres Montoya’s appeal, and the shifting rationale for why a new trial is necessary, stems in part from the Colorado Supreme Court’s clarification earlier this year that livestreaming a criminal trial cannot automatically render a judge’s decision to close the physical courtroom constitutional.

The Sixth Amendment guarantees criminal defendants the right to a public trial. However, some circumstances may justify a judge’s decision to not keep the courtroom open to everyone — such as a spectator causing disruption or the closure being “trivial” in nature. 

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