As DOJ Seek to Close Courtroom on Eve of Robinson Trial Inner City Press Cites Conyers

As DOJ Seek to Close Courtroom on Eve of Robinson Trial Inner City Press Cites Conyers by Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Book Substack SDNY COURTHOUSE, Aug 17-18 – Tysaan Robinson goes to trial this week on charges of conspiring to traffic methamphetamine, and the Friday before Monday jury selection, SDNY prosecutors asked Judge Ronnie Abrams to close the courtroom during the testimony of the undercover DEA officer expected to describe the case's two controlled buys.  The government's motion was filed August 14, not two weeks before trial as in Conyers. As in the previous case, but now with experience, Inner City Press has filed opposition. While officer safety is a real and recognized basis for partial closure, the reliability of the promises attached to it, and the timing of when they were finally put in writing, raise questions to be resolved before any closure.   The reason for skepticism has a name and a docket number: United States v. Conyers, 1:23-cr-457, tried before Judge Jessica G.L. Clarke earlier this year. There, too, the government sought and won a partial closure to protect an undercover officer's identity, and there, too, it represented at trial that it would make public the transcript of the UC's testimony and publish redacted versions of the exhibits shown during it — the buy videos jurors watched while the courtroom was sealed to the public. Inner City Press asked for those exhibits the morning after they were shown. Nothing came. Days passed. The trial ended in a guilty verdict on all three counts. Judge Clarke, noting the government's own representation, ordered a status update on the promised production by February 20. The government did not wait for that date. After 5 p.m. on the day the verdict came in, prosecutors wrote to reverse course entirely (no exhibits would be provided after all) and, in the same letter, chided Inner City Press for reporting on what had happened in open court, and for supposedly outing cooperators. That history is why the timing of the Robinson filing matters. A motion raising courtroom closure the business day before trial leaves essentially no room for the kind of scrutiny, and enforceable specificity, that might prevent a repeat of Conyers: no time to test whether "the government would make the transcript available" means available for free, the same day, or whether "redacted exhibits" means promptly, or only after a second court order the government might later decline to honor anyway.  Late on August 17 Inner City Press emailed Judge Abrams, cc-ing the prosecutors and defense and asking that the safeguards the government itself proposed be converted into binding conditions rather than representations: free, same-day transcripts; automatic, prompt release of any exhibit shown during the closed session, without requiring the press to ask twice; and advance notice of exactly when the courtroom will be sealed and reopened, given that in Conyers even the docket itself had to spell out closure and reopening times hour by hour because no one outside the courtroom could otherwise tell. The Conyers case: In a four defendant crack conspiracy case centered around the Lambert Houses in The Bronx, Malik Muhammad had a bail hearing on September 14, 2023 before U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York Magistrate Judge Sarah L. Cave. Inner City Press was there.   The Assistant US Attorney, after a trial day that ended at 3 pm, cited beyond the alleged crack to a shooting he said Muhammad had been picked out of a line up for.   Judge Cave said she had before her only the crack indictment.  The AUSA passed up to the bench a six pack photo array and at first asked the defense counsel not see it as it had the witnesses name. The defense said "attorney-eyes only" and saw it.   Judge Cave ordered the defendant released on $25,000 bond, subsequently raised to $75,000. Meanwhile, Conyers headed to trial. On January 28, 2025 Conyers' counsel wrote it asking to delay the trial... On January 19, 2026 Judge Clarke agreed to seal the courtroom for an Undercover at trial. On January 28 it was clarified that there was an audio feed in 23B. Inner City Press went: ...AUSA: Does the fact that you record the defendants discretely contribute to the quality of the video and audio? Undercover: Yes. It's blurry and people talk over it. AUSA: If it doesn't work during a case buy? Undercover: It could shut down without me knowing AUSA: Where did you make these buys? Undercover Detective "Smith" - the 2016 West Farms Convenience, deli, on Boston Road. AUSA: Do you see who you bought from? UC Smith: Over there.  AUSA: Indicating defendant Conyers. Please look at the binder... We wrote on January 28 that we hoped to have more on the exhibits shown in the courtroom that was sealed to conceal the undercover's identity. These were requested from the US Attorney's Office early on the morning of January 29; by day's end, nothing from the Office. They owe exhibits, including here and in US v. Alexander. Judge Clarke, on the other hand, docketed that "as of 10 am the courtroom is unsealed" then "the Court will seal the courtroom at 1:30 today, and audio feed is available in 23B." It is appreciated. In the courtroom, NYPD drug experts testified. In the afternoon, when the defense told "Detective Smith" that they had no more questions he said, "That's it?" Eliciting laughter. On January 30 - still no exhibits or even answer from a duo at the US Attorney's Office - Director Hernandez was on the stand, telling the AUSA synonyms for crack: rock, hard, stones. On cross, CJA Bradley asked for similar synonyms for replica guns but met resistance to scare piece, dummy, joint for show. The jury left, the charge conference was held. The result: ORDER as to Kyrin Conyers: After a jury trial, the jury returned a verdict of guilty on all three counts against Kyrin Conyers. And still no exhibits from the US Attorney's Office; they could simply be uploaded as they are in another current trial. On February 13, with still no exhibits released, Judge Clarke docketed an order: "ORDER as to Kyrin Conyers: During trial, the Government represented that it would make public the transcript of the UC's testimony and publish redacted versions of the exhibits -- including the buy videos -- referenced during the UC's testimony. The Government shall provide the Court with a status update about its progress in providing these materials no later than February 20, 2026. SO ORDERED. (Signed by Judge Jessica G. L. Clarke on 02/13/2026)" The US Attorneys' Office did not wait until February 20 - after 5 pm on February 13, they wrote in insisting saying no exhibits would be provided to be published, and chiding Inner City Press for reporting on proceedings in open court.   Inner City Press replied the same day, here. Jump cut to June 1, when defense counsel filed a Rule 29 motion with four exhibits, two of them under seal - GX 144 and 144R, video from inside the UC's car and a report of six others arrested for firearm in apartment 1J of East 179th Street. There are photos from inside the UC's car, with the UC's face pixelated. The case is USA v. Conyers, et al., 1:23-cr-457 (Clarke) *** Your support means a lot. As little as $5 a month helps keep us going and grants you access to exclusive bonus material on our Patreon page. Click here to become a patron. Feedback: Editorial [at] innercitypress.com Mail: Box 130222 NY NY 10017 Reporter's mobile (and weekends): 718-716-3540 Other, earlier Inner City Press are listed here, and some are available in the ProQuest service, and now on Lexis-Nexis.  Copyright 2006-2026 Inner City Press, Inc. To request reprint or other permission, e-contact Editorial [at] innercitypress.com