Opinion ID: 772927
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The District Court's Selection of Alternate Jurors

Text: 14 Sogomonian argues that his conviction should be overturned because the district court selected alternate jurors by lottery at the conclusion of the trial in violation of Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 24(c). Specifically, Sogomonian argues that the lottery method used (1) does not conform with the requirement that alternate jurors replace regular jurors in the order called and (2) does not ensure that the additional peremptory challenge provided for by Rule 24(c)(2) is used for the removal of an alternate juror. The government concedes that the district court was not in strict compliance with Rule 24(c) when it selected the alternate jurors by lottery, but maintains that any error committed by the district court was harmless. Again, we review for plain error because Sogomonian did not object at trial. 15 At the commencement of the trial, the district court selected fourteen jurors using the struck method. Under this method, thirty-two venire persons were questioned. After the venire persons were cleared for cause, the parties exercised their peremptory challenges. Pursuant to Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure 24(b) and 24(c)(2), the defendant was allowed eleven peremptory challenges and the government was allowed seven. After the eighteen peremptory challenges had been used, fourteen venire persons remained. The district court empaneled all fourteen remaining venire persons as the trial jury without designating the alternate jurors. At the close of the trial, after instructing the jury on the law, Judge Elfvin, by lottery, and without objection from either party, drew the numbers of two of the fourteen jurors out of a box. The two alternate jurors chosen at random did not participate in the deliberations. 16 This Court has not addressed the issue of choosing alternate jurors by lottery prior to the commencement of deliberations. We have cautioned that [t]he absence of benefit being so clear and the danger of prejudice so great, it seems foolhardy to depart from the command of Rule 24. United States v. Hayutin, 398 F.2d 944, 950 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 393 U.S. 961 (1968). We have also held that Rule 24(c) represents a national consensus of bench and bar and ought not be disturbed on a local level. United States v. Viserto, 596 F.2d 531, 540 (2d Cir. 1979) (affirming conviction after parties stipulated to the district court empaneling sixteen jurors without designating regular and alternate jurors and allowing the parties to select jurors to be discharged until the requisite number of regular jurors remained). 17 Other federal appellate courts considering the actions of district courts that have not applied Rule 24(c) as it is drafted have concluded that, although not encouraged, such error is harmless. In United States v. Brewer, 199 F.3d 1283, 1286-87 (11th Cir. 2000), the Eleventh Circuit faced a virtually identical factual scenario and concluded that the district court's error was harmless. See alsoUnited States v. Love, 134 F.3d 595, 601-03 (4th Cir.) (finding no prejudice to the defendant when, over the defendant's objection, eighteen jurors were initially chosen without designation as to their regular or alternate status and six jurors were eliminated at random prior to deliberations), cert. denied, 524 U.S. 932 (1998); United States v. Olano, 62 F.3d 1180, 1190 n.3 (9th Cir. 1995) (finding no prejudice to defendant when the district court waited until just before the beginning of jury deliberations to designate the alternate jurors); United States v. Sivils, 960 F.2d 587, 593-94 (6th Cir. 1992) (finding no prejudice to defendants where district court employed seemingly identical process as seen in the case before the bar); United States v. Aguon, 851 F.2d 1158, 1171 (9th Cir. 1988) (en banc) (finding no prejudice to defendant when the district court waited until just before the beginning of jury deliberations to designate the alternate jurors), overruled on other grounds, Evans v. United States, 504 U.S. 255 (1992). Therefore, based on the reasoning of our sister circuits and Sogomonian's failure to show that his substantial rights were affected by the district court's use of a lottery system to select alternate jurors, we reject Sogomonian's argument that his conviction should be overturned because of the district court's failure to adhere to the letter of Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 24(c).