State of Wisconsin, Plaintiff-Appellant v. Dhosi J. Ndina, Defendant-Respondent-Petitioner

Summary

The court affirmed the court of appeals' decision reversing the order granting Ndina a new trial. It declined to resolve whether either party forfeited arguments because both sides failed to raise preservation issues timely, and instead held that excluding family members implicated the Sixth Amendment public-trial right but was justified by the circumstances and therefore did not violate that right. The case was remanded for any remaining postconviction proceedings unrelated to the public-trial claim. Justice Prosser, joined by Justices Ziegler and Gableman, concurred in the result but would have held that Ndina forfeited the public-trial claim by failing to object timely.