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STATE OF MICHIGAN COURT OF APPEALS

PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN, Plaintiff-Appellee, v RICHARD STEVEN HARRISON, Defendant-Appellant.

UNPUBLISHED January 25, 2011

No. 294828 Genesee Circuit Court LC No. 09-024316-FC

Before: FORT HOOD, P.J., and MURRAY and SERVITTO, JJ. PER CURIAM. Defendant appeals as of right his jury trial convictions of second-degree murder, MCL 750.317, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, MCL 750.227b. He was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder conviction, and a consecutive two-year term of imprisonment for the felony-firearm conviction. Because defendant's right to a public trial was not violated and he was not denied a fair trial or the effective assistance of counsel, and because offense variable 3 was correctly scored, we affirm. Defendant's convictions arise from the shooting death of Pastor Herbert Hart. The victim was driving his vehicle down a street when several bullets were fired into his car. Hart died from a gunshot wound to the head, consistent with a shot from a .40-caliber firearm. The principal evidence implicating defendant was the testimony of codefendant Brandon Sillman, who testified that he was with defendant during the episode, and Kenya Dickerson, who testified that she witnessed the shooting. The testimony indicated that defendant misidentified the victim as a person whom defendant had robbed earlier, and feared retribution. Sillman testified that defendant fired a .40-caliber firearm at the victim's vehicle several times, and Dickerson testified that defendant was the only person shooting. At trial, defendant admitted shooting a .22-caliber firearm during the episode, but claimed that he only fired it toward an open field, and further claimed that it was Sillman who shot directly at the victim's vehicle with a .40-caliber firearm. I. RIGHT TO A PUBLIC TRIAL On appeal, defendant first argues that his right to a public trial was violated when the trial court closed the courtroom to the public during jury selection. We disagree. A criminal defendant has a constitutional right to a public trial, US Const, Am VI; Const 1963, art 1,

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