Opinion ID: 1654187
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Relevant Facts on the Juror Substitution Issue.

Text: Approximately fifteen minutes after the case had been submitted to the jury in the guilt phase, the trial court appeared on the record stating that one of the jurors had previously been excused from jury duty by the Chief Circuit Judge because the juror had advised the Chief Circuit Judge that he could not sit in judgment of another. After the trial court stated that an alternate juror was available, the Commonwealth suggested that the alternate should take the place of the juror in question. The trial court agreed with the Commonwealth and ordered the alternate juror to be located and returned to the courthouse so he could join the already deliberating jury. Shortly afterwards, the trial court called the jury back into the courtroom. At the bench, the trial court asked the juror who had previously been excused by the Chief Circuit Judge why he had not spoken up during voir dire. Unfortunately, the juror's answer was somewhat unintelligible. The trial court then dismissed that juror [7] and informed the remaining eleven jurors that something had happened, and the alternate juror was on his way back to join their deliberations. The trial court ordered the jury not to deliberate until the new juror arrived. As the trial court was leaving the bench, the Commonwealth Attorney asked if the new juror needed to be re-sworn; but the trial court's answer (if any) was not audible. The proceedings then went off the record. A little over an hour later, the proceedings came back on the record after the jury informed the trial court that it had reached a verdict. Before the jury was brought into the courtroom to announce its verdict and before Crossland's counsel apparently knew what the verdict would be, she objected to the post-submission substitution of the alternate juror. The Commonwealth stated the objection was belated, to which Crossland's attorney stated she planned to object when the alternate arrived and was re-sworn but did not make her objection then because there had been no additional proceedings on the record. The trial court overruled the objection, citing an unnamed federal case as authority for the replacement of the discharged juror with the alternate juror.