Defendant’s Right to be Present Violated

In a 2-1 decision by our Appellate Court in People v McLaurin, 2008 Ill. App. LEXIS 426, the court reversed Mr McLaurin’s  conviction when he was excluded from discussions among the lawyers and judge about  five jury notes and when the trial court directed the sheriff to have an ex-parte discussion with the jurors by telling them to continue to deliberate.