The Nation - News from Oct. 3, 1989

The U.S. Court of Appeals reopened to the public the Washington, D.C., cocaine conspiracy trial of alleged drug boss Rayful Edmond III and 10 associates, blocking an order by the trial judge barring the public’s attendance, the Washington Post reported. In overturning the apparently unprecedented order by U.S. District Judge Charles Richey, the three-member appellate panel wrote that Richey had failed to show that the threat of danger to the jurors that he cited in his order outweighed the defendants’ constitutional right to a public trial. The appellate court, however, said it was not precluding Richey from taking less restrictive measures to protect the anonymity of the jury.