Opinion ID: 606347
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Whether The Substitution Of The Alternate Juror Was Error

Text: 30 A district court may excuse a juror and substitute an alternate juror prior to the commencement of jury deliberations. Fed.R.Crim.P. 24(c); United States v. Barrett, 703 F.2d 1076, 1083 n. 12 (9th Cir.1983). Such decisions are reviewed for an abuse of discretion. United States v. Echavarria-Olarte, 904 F.2d 1391, 1395 (9th Cir.1990). A district court's decision to excuse a juror after deliberations have begun is also reviewed for an abuse of discretion. United States v. Egbuniwe, 969 F.2d 757, 760 (9th Cir.1992) (juror excused, without substitution of alternate juror, after deliberations had begun, pursuant to Fed.R.Crim.P. 23(b)).
31 The appellants' contention that the district court erred by substituting an alternate juror during deliberations is also meritless. The language of Fed.R.Crim.P. 24(c) is mandatory: [T]he rule allows an alternate to be substituted for a regular juror only before the jury retires and requires that when the jury retires alternates who have not replaced regular jurors be discharged. 2 Charles A. Wright, Federal Practice & Procedure, § 388 at 390 (1982) (Wright). So long as the substitution takes place prior to deliberations, it is within the prerogative of the trial court and does not require the consent of any party. Id. at 386; accord United States v. Barrett, 703 F.2d at 1083 n. 12. It is only if the substitution takes place after jury deliberations have begun that express consent of the defendant(s) must appear on the record. United States v. Olano, 934 F.2d 1425, 1437 & n. 21 (9th Cir.1991), cert. granted, --- U.S. ----, 112 S.Ct. 1935, 118 L.Ed.2d 542 (1992); see also Wright, § 388 at 89 (Supp.1992). 32 The record shows that the regular juror in question had been involved in a serious automobile accident and was unable to come to court, that the jury had neither begun its deliberations nor been instructed by the court, and that the alternates had not yet been discharged. Accordingly, the district court did not abuse its discretion in ordering the substitution of the alternate juror. See United States v. Echavarria-Olarte, 904 F.2d at 1395. 33