State v. MacGregor

Summary

The Supreme Court of Montana issued an order amending paragraphs 24 and 50 of its opinion in State v. MacGregor after denying the defendant's petition for rehearing. The amendments addressed standby counsel and ineffective-assistance claims, as well as the defendant's contention that the jury should have considered mitigated deliberate homicide.

Holdings

1. Standby counsel does not constitute counsel for Sixth Amendment purposes and therefore cannot be the basis for a claim that counsel violated the right to effective assistance.
2. The district court did not err by failing to conduct additional inquiry into MacGregor's complaint concerning representation.
3. MacGregor did not establish a mitigating factor sufficient to support consideration of mitigated deliberate homicide because the circumstances he identified reflected accumulated stress, anger, and intoxication rather than direct provocation.

Questions Presented

1. Whether actions or inaction by standby counsel could establish a violation of the Sixth Amendment right to effective assistance of counsel.
2. Whether the district court erred by failing to conduct additional inquiry into MacGregor's complaints about representation while his request to represent himself was pending.
3. Whether MacGregor presented sufficient evidence of direct provocation or another mitigating factor to support submission of mitigated deliberate homicide to the jury.

Disposition

affirmed