The court’s unanimous opinion by Justice Carol Corrigan rejects the argument that a second penalty trial after the reversal was a constitutional double jeopardy violation. A retrial was allowed, the court concludes, “[b]ecause defendant’s original death judgment was reversed for legal error, and the reversal was not the equivalent of an acquittal.” The opinion holds, “As a general rule, the erroneous discharge of a capital juror is no different from any other trial error warranting reversal of judgment, and double jeopardy protections impose no obstacle to retrial.”