In re the Personal Restraint of Copland

¶1 After a long day of drinking with friends, Walter William Copland fatally shot one of his friends in the head. A Benton County jury convicted him of first degree manslaughter, with a firearm sentencing enhancement. In this timely petition, he seeks relief from personal restraint, contending (1) his constitutional right to a public trial was violated when some potential jurors were interviewed pri*436vately in chambers and (2) new evidence supports vacation of his judgment and sentence and the setting of a new trial. We conclude that Mr. Copland’s contentions are without merit. Accordingly, we…