A judge’s interruptions of a juror’s answers to questions regarding the juror’s agreement with the verdict and the judge’s insistence that the form showed a unanimous verdict strongly suggested that the juror may have felt pressure and intimidation, and that the juror may have misunderstood the verdict reached in the jury room. Although the juror expressed agreement with subsequent statements, because the juror was cut off when attempting to answer whether the juror found the defendant guilty or not guilty, and never actually gave an answer, the juror could not be said to have found the defendant guilty on count one. Consequently, the verdict was not unanimous. State v. Dukes, 2007 WI App 175, 303 Wis. 2d 208, 736 N.W.2d 515, 06-2127. The trial court has an affirmative, sua sponte duty to inquire into the necessity for a defendant to wear a visible electronic security device during trial once the court becomes aware of the situation. A trial court maintains the discretion to decide whether a defendant should be restrained during a trial as long as the reasons justifying the restraints have been set forth in the record. It is an erroneous exercise of discretion to rely primarily upon law enforcement department procedures instead of considering the risk a particular defendant poses for violence or escape. State v. Champlain, 2008 WI App 5, 307 Wis. 2d 232, 744 N.W.2d 889, 06-2435. Whenever a defendant wears a restraint in the presence of jurors trying the case, the court should instruct that the restraint is not to be considered in assessing the proof and determining guilt. Counsel’s failure to object to the device constituted ineffective assistance of counsel. State v. Champlain, 2008 WI App 5, 307 Wis. 2d 232, 744 N.W.2d 889, 06-2435. A trial court judge, rather than a jury, is allowed to determine the applicability of a defendant’s prior conviction for sentence enhancement purposes when the necessary information concerning the prior conviction can be readily determined from an existing judicial record. State v. LaCount, 2008 WI 59, 310 Wis. 2d 85, 750 N.W.2d 780, 06-0672. While the prosecutor may strike hard blows during closing argument, the prosecutor’s duty is to refrain from using improper methods. Prosecutors may not ask jurors to draw inferences that they know or should know are not true. State v. Weiss, 2008 WI App 72, 312 Wis. 2d 382, 752 N.W.2d 372, 07-0778. A demonstration of the specific bias of a juror is not needed to remove a juror from deliberations when there are 12 other jurors whose impartiality the trial court does not have a concern about. The trial court properly exercised its discretion when it designated a juror as an alternate based on its concern regarding potential impartiality. The trial court has a duty to ensure that the impaneled jury is an impartial one, one that is free of bias or prejudice. State v. Gonzalez, 2008 WI App 142, 314 Wis. 2d 129, 758 N.W.2d 153, 07-2160. A circuit court need not consider the necessity of a restraint that is not visible to the jury and has no sua sponte duty to inquire into the necessity of hidden restraints. Limiting a court’s sua sponte duty to visible restraints is consistent with the rationale for the general rule against restraining defendants at trial. The no-restraint rule is designed to prevent the jury from forming an opinion about the defendant’s guilt based solely on the fact that the defendant is restrained. There is little risk of prejudice if the jury cannot see the restraint. State v. Miller, 2011 WI App 34, 331 Wis. 2d 732, 797 N.W.2d 528, 09-3175. When the court properly instructed the jury, the failure to provide the jury with a not guilty form for one of the five charged offenses did not constitute structural error, but rather was trial error subject to a harmless error analysis. State v. Hansbrough, 2011 WI App 79, 334 Wis. 2d 237, 799 N.W.2d 887, 10-0369. Jurors are presumed impartial, and the defendant has the burden of rebutting this presumption and proving bias. That a juror has been a victim of sexual assault does not make the juror per se biased against the defendant in a sexual assault case. State v. Funk, 2011 WI 62, 335 Wis. 2d 369, 799 N.W.2d 421, 08-2765. The fundamental inquiry is the same regarding a sleeping juror and a hearing-impaired juror: are the defendant’s constitutional rights to an impartial jury and due process violated when the juror does not hear particular testimony? When it is feasible to determine what testimony the juror did not hear, the proper inquiry is whether, given the length of time the juror did not hear testimony and the significance of the testimony not heard in the context of the trial as a whole, the defendant was prejudiced to the extent the defendant did not receive a fair trial—that is, a trial comporting with the constitutional guarantees of an impartial jury and due process. State v. Kettner, 2011 WI App 142, 337 Wis. 2d 461, 805 N.W.2d 132, 11-0085. Any party or counsel who notices that a juror has fallen asleep at trial must bring the issue to the trial court’s attention during trial as soon as practicable after the person notices the sleeping juror so that the problem can immediately be resolved. Because the defendant waited until after trial to bring the issue to the trial court’s attention, it was impossible for the trial court to determine the extent of the problem, if any; thus, the defendant forfeited the defendant’s right to appeal the trial court’s refusal to conduct a post-trial hearing on that issue. State v. Saunders, 2011 WI App 156, 338 Wis. 2d 160, 807 N.W.2d 679, 10-2393. The defendant was not entitled to a new trial even though the defendant used a peremptory challenge to remove the judge’s daughter-in-law from the jury. Because the defendant did not claim the jury was unfair or partial, a new trial was not required under the circumstances of the case. The defendant did not show that the presence of the challenged juror in the pool of potential jurors affected the defendant’s substantial rights. State v. Sellhausen, 2012 WI 5, 338 Wis. 2d 286, 809 N.W.2d 14, 10-0445. A stipulation is a matter of convenience and litigation strategy entered into to avoid the time, expense, and potential prejudice of introducing unnecessary and possibly prejudicial evidence. It is a far different thing for a defendant to stipulate to a fact than it is to waive the constitutional right to a jury determination of that fact. However, harmless error analysis applies when a court erroneously takes judicial notice of a fact that should have been submitted to the jury. State v. Smith, 2012 WI 91, 342 Wis. 2d 710, 817 N.W.2d 410, 10-1192. That a father and son had the same first and last names, and the same middle initial, phone number, and address, the jury summons did not include any specific identifying information, and the son appeared and served on the jury when the summons was intended for the father, did not make the son an improper juror. State v. Turner, 2013 WI App 23, 346 Wis. 2d 229, 827 N.W.2d 654, 12-0297. A jury instruction that does not accurately state the statutory requirements for the crime charged constitutes an erroneous statement of the law. Harmless error analysis is appropriate when jury instructions include a requirement in addition to that set forth in a statute. The jury instructions cannot provide the proper standard for analysis. A challenge must be reviewed in the context of the statutory requirements. State v. Beamon, 2013 WI 47, 347 Wis. 2d 559, 830 N.W.2d 681, 10-2003. The circuit court’s decision to exclude the defendant from in-chambers meetings with jurors during the trial regarding possible bias did not deprive the defendant of a fair and just hearing. The factors a trial court should consider in determining whether a defendant’s presence is required to ensure a fair and just hearing include whether the defendant could meaningfully participate, whether the defendant would gain anything by attending, and whether the presence of the defendant would be counterproductive. State v. Alexander, 2013 WI 70, 349 Wis. 2d 327, 833 N.W.2d 126, 11-0394. Absent an unambiguous declaration that a party intends to bind itself for future fact-finding hearings or trials, a jury waiver applies only to the fact-finding hearing or trial pending at the time it is made. Walworth County Department of Health & Human Services v. Roberta J.W., 2013 WI App 102, 349 Wis. 2d 691, 836 N.W.2d 860, 12-2387. Unanimity is required only with respect to the ultimate issue of the defendant’s guilt or innocence of the crime charged; it is not required with respect to the alternative means or ways in which the crime can be committed. It is ultimately the elements of the crime charged that must be accepted by a unanimous jury and not the peripheral details. State v. Badzinski, 2014 WI 6, 352 Wis. 2d 329, 843 N.W.2d 29, 11-2905. The 6th amendment right to a public trial extends to voir dire. A judge’s decision to close or limit public access to a courtroom in a criminal case requires the court to go through an analysis on the record in which the court considers overriding interests and reasonable alternatives. The court must make specific findings on the record to support the exclusion of the public and must narrowly tailor the closure. State v. Pinno, 2014 WI 74, 356 Wis. 2d 106, 850 N.W.2d 207, 11-2424. The right to a public trial may be asserted by the defendant at any time during a trial. A defendant who fails to object to a judicial decision to close the courtroom forfeits the right to a public trial, so long as the defendant is aware that the judge has excluded the public from the courtroom. Although the U.S. Supreme Court has categorized a violation of the right to a public trial as a structural error, that categorization does not mandate a waiver analysis, and a defendant need not affirmatively relinquish the defendant’s right to a public trial in order to lose it. Defendants must demonstrate prejudice to prove ineffective assistance of counsel when counsel fails to object to the closure of the courtroom. State v. Pinno, 2014 WI 74, 356 Wis. 2d 106, 850 N.W.2d 207, 11-2424. A jury has no right to exercise its nullification power, and no party has a right to have a jury decide a case contrary to law or fact, much less a right to an instruction telling jurors they may do so or to an argument urging them to nullify applicable laws. Voir dire questions that assume proof of, or demand consideration of, only what the law requires are proper because they ask that the jurors do no more than promise to fulfill their duty to follow the law, and do not limit the jurors’ consideration of any pertinent factors or invite them to prejudge any particular fact. State v. Zdzieblowski, 2014 WI App 130, 359 Wis. 2d 102, 857 N.W.2d 622, 14-0619. Errant jury instructions are subject to harmless error analysis. This includes errors that omit an element, as well as errors that create requirements beyond the statute. Jury instructions can be considered erroneous if they instruct the jury on a theory of the crime that was not presented to the jury or if they fail to instruct the jury on the theory of the crime that was presented to the jury during trial. To affirm a conviction based on an erroneous instruction, a court must be convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that the jury still would have convicted the defendant of the charge had the correct jury instruction been provided. State v. Williams, 2015 WI 75, 364 Wis. 2d 126, 867 N.W.2d 736, 14-1099. Jurors are not required to unanimously agree as to which act or acts the defendant committed in order to find the defendant guilty when the prosecutor has issued only one charge but introduced evidence of multiple acts that separately constitute the criminal offense charged. If there is only one crime, jury unanimity on the particular alternative means of committing the crime is required only if the acts are conceptually distinct. Unanimity is not required if the acts are conceptually similar. State v. Elverman, 2015 WI App 91, 366 Wis. 2d 169, 873 N.W.2d 528, 14-0354. An appellate court should not give deference to a postconviction court’s finding of subjective bias because the postconviction court did not preside over the trial and thus could not have observed the demeanor and disposition of a juror as the trial court did. Findings of fact regarding a trial, made at a hearing by a postconviction court that did not preside over trial, are reviewed de novo. State v. Tobatto, 2016 WI App 28, 368 Wis. 2d 300, 878 N.W.2d 701, 15-0254. Jury instructions must fully and fairly inform the jury of the legal rules applicable to the case. A jury instruction that was modified based upon a statute that went into effect after the defendant committed key acts underlying the offense failed to fully and fairly inform the jury of the law applicable to the defendant’s alleged criminal acts. State v. Bryzek, 2016 WI App 48, 370 Wis. 2d 237, 882 N.W.2d 483, 15-1501. A defendant may intentionally and voluntarily relinquish the defendant’s statutory and constitutional rights to be present at trial. The defendant in this case did not dispute that he waived his constitutional right to be present at trial, but argued that he could not waive his statutory right. The defendant made an express, affirmative, intentional choice not to be present, waiving, rather than forfeiting, his constitutional and statutory rights. The defendant knew of his rights and waived them on multiple occasions throughout the course of the trial. The trial court properly handled the defendant’s waiver of his right to be present by allowing the defendant’s counsel to communicate with him and repeatedly inquiring whether the defendant would like to be present. State v. Washington, 2017 WI App 6, 373 Wis. 2d 214, 890 N.W.2d 592, 16-0238. A prospective juror must be able to set aside any opinion the juror might hold and decide the case on the evidence, but, as a general matter, a circuit court need not use or obtain any magic words in determining whether this requirement has been met. State v. Lepsch, 2017 WI 27, 374 Wis. 2d 98, 892 N.W.2d 682, 14-2813.