Opinion ID: 2590657
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: proceedings held in chambers and sidebar without woods' presence

Text: ¶ 74 Woods claims that he was denied his right to a public trial and to due process because certain proceedings were held in chambers and at sidebar without him being present. [13] As noted above, we will review this issue as if it had been raised on direct appeal. ¶ 75 A defendant has a fundamental right to be present when evidence is being presented. In re Pers. Restraint of Pirtle, 136 Wash.2d 467, 483, 965 P.2d 593 (1998). A defendant has the right to be present at proceedings where his or her presence has a reasonably substantial relation `to the fulness of his opportunity to defend against the charge.' Id. (quoting In re Pers. Restraint of Lord, 123 Wash.2d 296, 306, 868 P.2d 835 (1994)). This court, however, has held that a defendant `does not have a right to be present during in-chambers or bench conferences between the court and counsel on legal matters.' Id. at 484, 965 P.2d 593 (quoting Lord, 123 Wash.2d at 306, 868 P.2d 835). Furthermore, the defendant need not be present `when presence would be useless, or the benefit but a shadow.' State v. Rice, 110 Wash.2d 577, 616, 757 P.2d 889 (1988) (quoting Snyder v. Massachusetts, 291 U.S. 97, 106-07, 54 S.Ct. 330, 78 L.Ed. 674 (1934)). Therefore, the question to be answered here is whether the matters addressed out of Woods' presence were ones that required his presence. ¶ 76 The two instances in which Woods claims he should have been present related to concerns about juror misconduct. The first involved the anonymous phone call regarding alternate juror, Lynnell McFarland, and the second instance involved the two jurors who complained about the alternate juror, Randy Riddle. ¶ 77 We faced a similar issue in Pirtle. There Pirtle argued that his presence was required at the meeting regarding the alleged juror misconduct. We noted that it may have been appropriate for Pirtle to be present, but no error was shown because Pirtle was apprised of the situation and the matter was put on the record. Pirtle, 136 Wash.2d at 484, 965 P.2d 593. We, however, did not state that all defendants are entitled to attend all meetings relating to juror misconduct. Here, during the conference it was asked whether Woods' presence was necessary and Woods' attorney stated that it was not. VRP at 4336-37. Thus, even under the more lenient standard applicable to direct appeals, Woods' argument fails.