Opinion ID: 1652618
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Alternate Juror Sitting in the Penalty Phase

Text: Johnson claims that the trial court erred in allowing, over his objection, an alternate juror to sit in the penalty phase only and that the Rule 29.15 court also erred in not finding that Johnson's counsel was ineffective for failing to request a mistrial when the alternate juror was seated. Section 494.485, RSMo 1994, which addresses the use of alternate jurors, states in pertinent part that [a]lternate jurors who do not replace principal jurors shall be discharged after the jury retires to consider its verdict. Because the trial in a capital case is bifurcated and involves two verdicts instead of one, it is unclear whether the statute applies to one or the other of the verdicts, or both. Such ambiguities must be resolved by reference to legislative intent, as reflected in the language used in the statute. Akers v. Warson Garden Apartments, 961 S.W.2d 50 (Mo. banc 1998) (No. 80240, January 27, 1998). The overriding intent of section 494.485 is to provide for the use of alternate jurors so as to prevent mistrials caused by the loss of a regular juror. The only statutory exception to the use of alternate jurors applies when deliberations have already begun. Allowing juror replacement during penalty phase, but before the jury retires to deliberate, is entirely consistent with both the legislative purpose of preventing mistrials and the statutory exception. This Court concludes that the legislature intended to afford the same protection against mistrials in bifurcated cases that it afforded in non-bifurcated cases; therefore, alternate jurors may properly serve in penalty phase deliberations only. This conclusion, of course, is also entirely consistent with the practice of conducting penalty phase trials with completely new juries whenever the imposition of the death penalty is overturned on appeal. The point is denied.