State v. Outlaw — concurring in part and dissenting in part

Summary

Justice McDonald would have concluded that the trial court abused its discretion and violated the defendant's right to a fair trial by failing to conduct a sufficiently thorough inquiry after observing a juror apparently sleep through critical testimony. He would have treated the error as structural and ordered a new trial on the murder and carrying-a-pistol-without-a-permit charges, while joining the majority's resolution of the other issues. Justice Ecker, joined by Chief Justice Robinson, agreed that the inquiry was inadequate but concluded that the defendant had not established a constitutional violation requiring reversal.