The State of Washington, Respondent v. Kwan Fai Mak, Appellant

Summary

The court affirmed Mak's convictions for thirteen aggravated first-degree murders and first-degree assault, as well as his death sentence, after mandatory review. It rejected challenges involving prosecutorial consistency, evidentiary rulings, discovery, jury selection and sequestration, search warrants, jury instructions, effective assistance, and the constitutionality and proportionality of Washington's capital-punishment scheme. Justice Utter, joined by Justice Pearson, dissented, concluding that evidence linking a third party to the crimes should have been admitted, particularly during sentencing, because it could have undermined the State's portrayal of Mak as the controlling planner.