In United States v. Ramirez-Ramirez, --- F.4th ---, No. 21-10127 (9th Cir. 2022), the Court vacated a judgment of conviction, following a bench trial, for possession of marijuana with intent to distribute and remanded for specific findings of fact.
Following the bench trial, the district court issued a written finding of guilt, but did not make a public, in-person finding of guilt until sentencing.
The Court held that the district court plainly erred by making only a written finding of guilt after trial, in violation of the defendant’s Sixth Amendment right to a public trial. The Court concluded that, although the usual remedy would be a remand to announce the finding in open court, the district court had already reiterated its finding of guilt publicly during the defendant’s sentencing, rendering such a remedy superfluous.
As such, the Court remanded for the district court to make specific findings of fact, as the defendant requested.
"The requirement that findings of guilt be announced in open court vindicates core constitutional and human values. While a trial court is free to recess after the close of a bench trial to consider its decision further or to issue a written opinion elaborating on its oral finding of guilt, denying a criminal defendant the opportunity to be present in a public hearing at the time his guilt is determined undermines the fairness, integrity, and legitimacy of the judicial proceedings. Such a closure cannot be permitted to stand."
