The State of Washington v. Michael Lynn Sublett, Petitioner the State of Washington v. Christopher Lee Olsen

Summary

The Washington Supreme Court affirmed the convictions of Michael Sublett and Christopher Olsen in this consolidated appeal. The court held that the trial court did not err in denying Sublett's motion to sever because the defendants' defenses, though irreconcilable, were not so prejudicially in conflict that the jury would infer guilt from the conflict alone. The court also held that the trial court's in-chambers consideration of a jury question did not violate the defendants' public trial right, adopting the federal experience and logic test to determine whether the public trial right attaches to a particular proceeding. The court further held that the accomplice liability instruction correctly stated the law, that Olsen was not entitled to lesser included offense instructions, that Olsen received effective assistance of counsel, and that California second degree robbery is comparable to Washington second degree robbery for persistent offender sentencing purposes. Chief Justice Madsen, Justice Wiggins, and Justice Stephens each wrote concurring opinions addressing various aspects of the public trial right analysis.