Opinion ID: 484310
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Seating Alternate Juror by Lot

Text: 4 After the regular jury was impaneled, two alternate jurors were selected. The trial transcript reflects the following with regard to this selection process: 5 THE COURT: Now we need to get two alternate jurors. I'm going to suggest that the first name called take the first seat in the second row nearest to this end of the jurybox, and the second alternate take the seat right next to the first one.... 6 THE CLERK: Jesusa Basilio. B-a-s-i-l-i-o. First name spelled J-e-s-u-s-a. Again the last name is spelled B-a-s-i-l-i-o. 7 THE COURT: Miss Basilio, if you are chosen, you will act as alternate juror. Let's get the second alternate first and then we will start the questioning. 8 THE CLERK: Sharon Schmitt. S-c-h-m-i-t-t. Sharon Schmitt.... (emphasis added) 9 The two alternate jurors, Ms. Basilio and Ms. Schmitt, were seated, respectively, where the first and second alternate jurors would sit during trial. Basilio, who had been called first, was excused for cause. Ms. Bolles was then called, seated in the first alternate juror seat vacated by Basilio and questioned as the prospective first alternate. Only after the completion of Bolles' questioning was Schmitt questioned. Following the court's voir dire of the two alternates, the trial judge asked if either party wished to exercise a peremptory challenge. Neither party did, and Bolles and Schmitt were sworn in as the alternate jurors. Bolles remained in the first alternate seat and Schmitt in the second; they occupied these positions throughout the trial. 10 During the trial one of the regular jurors was excused because of illness. The trial judge proposed selecting one of the alternates to replace the excused juror by placing the nametags of Bolles and Schmitt in a metal box and drawing one out randomly. The following colloquy then occurred: 11 MR. YAGMAN: I believe the appropriate procedure is that Alternate Number One is be taken first, that there is not to be a drawing. 12 THE COURT: No, there is no Number One or Two. Alternate. 13 MR. YAGMAN: They were designated as One and Two, Your Honor. And the rules provide that that happens absent a stipulation. And there has been no signed stipulation. 14 THE COURT: I've never worked it that way. Alternates are alternates, and we draw. 15 MR. YAGMAN: I think the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure say they have to be taken in the order in which they were chosen. 16 THE COURT: All right. We are going to do it my way. Do you have any objection? 17 MR. FEELEY (defense counsel): No, Your Honor. 18 THE COURT: All right. (emphasis added). 19 In contending that the first alternate should be the replacement juror, Heath's counsel (Mr. Yagman) did not state whether he considered Bolles or Schmitt to be that individual. Over his objection, the court proceeded to draw by lot, and the nametag of Bolles was drawn. Bolles was then seated as a regular juror and the trial continued. Heath argues, as he did in his motion for a new trial, that the procedure followed by the district court in seating Bolles violated Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 47(b), that Schmitt should have replaced the ill juror, and that a new trial is required. Violation of Rule 47(b) 20 Rule 47(b) provides in relevant part: Alternate jurors in the order in which they are called shall replace jurors who, prior to the time the jury retires to consider its verdict, become ... unable ... to perform their duties. Fed.R.Civ.P. 47(b) (emphasis added). We review the district court's interpretation of this rule de novo, United States v. McConney, 728 F.2d 1195, 1201 (9th Cir.) (en banc), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 824, 105 S.Ct. 101, 83 L.Ed.2d 46 (1984). We conclude that the trial court erred in selecting the replacement juror by lot rather than by following the procedure prescribed by Rule 47(b). Schmitt was called ahead of Bolles and she should have been seated as a regular juror ahead of Bolles. The violation of the rule is clear. Use of the lottery system to select jurors is not permitted. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 47(b). The more difficult question is whether reversal is required. 21 Heath argues that the violation of Rule 47(b) was prejudicial. He points out that the Rule entitles each side to only one peremptory challenge when two alternate jurors are to be impaneled. He argues, with some force, that because the first alternate is more likely than the second to end up serving as a regular juror, counsel are more concerned about the first alternate and more likely to exercise their peremptory challenge to excuse a person being considered for that position. Accordingly, Heath says, to exercise Rule 47 rights effectively, a party must know which of two alternate jurors will be the first to replace a regular juror. He says that counsel might use different standards in determining whether to challenge a prospective juror depending on whether that juror is to be the first or second alternate. 22 In the circumstances of the case before us, the use of a lottery to select one of the two alternates as a replacement juror, while clearly erroneous, was also clearly harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. While a lottery should not have been used in the absence of a stipulation by both parties, its use here resulted in the selection of Bolles as the replacement juror. Bolles, as we have stated, was questioned first during voir dire and was seated, from the moment she stepped forward, in the chair designated for the first alternate. Moreover, in the initial process by which the alternates were selected, the court referred to Schmitt's status as that of second alternate. And at the time of the lottery, Heath reminded the court of the earlier designation of the jurors as alternate one and alternate two. In sum, Bolles was treated by the court and by Heath as the de facto first alternate and Schmitt was treated as the de facto second alternate during the entire trial up to the time of the lottery. Because it was Bolles who ultimately replaced the excused juror, the use of the lottery did not affect Heath's earlier decision not to exercise a peremptory challenge as to either Bolles or Schmitt. It is clear to us, therefore, that the error in seating Bolles as a regular juror did not affect the substantial rights of any party. Fed.R.Civ.P. 61. 1 23 While in a narrow sense Rule 61 applies only to the district courts, see Fed.Rule Civ.Proc. 1, it is well settled that the appellate courts should act in accordance with the salutary policy embodied in Rule 61. McDonough Power Equipment, Inc. v. Greenwood, 464 U.S. 548, 554, 104 S.Ct. 845, 849, 78 L.Ed.2d 663 (1984). And as the Supreme Court stated in McDonough Power: 24  '[A litigant] is entitled to a fair trial but not a perfect one,' for there are no perfect trials. (citations omitted). Trials are costly, not only for the parties, but also for the jurors performing their civic duty and for society which pays the judges and support personnel who manage the trials. It seems doubtful that our judicial system would have resources to provide litigants with perfect trials, were they possible, and still keep abreast of its constantly increasing caseload.... 25 We have also come a long way from the time when all trial error was presumed prejudicial and reviewing courts were considered  'citadels of technicality.'  (citations omitted). The harmless-error rules adopted by this Court and Congress embody the principle that courts should exercise judgment in preference to the automatic reversal for error and ignore errors that do not affect the essential fairness of the trial.... 26 Id. at 553, 104 S.Ct. at 848. 27 We conclude that in this case the district court did not commit reversible error, notwithstanding the violation of Rule 47(b). In so doing, we do not condone violations of the Rule and note that under different circumstances its violation might require a new trial.