Issue

Criminal trial—constitutional right to unanimity—amended juror substitution statute—deliberations begin anew

Summary

In a prosecution that resulted in convictions on charges of first-degree murder and assault with intent to kill inflicting serious injury arising from a shooting at a hotel that left a man dead and a woman injured, defendant's state constitutional right that a conviction only be returned by a unanimous jury of twelve was not violated where, after a partial hour of deliberations was completed, one juror was excused, an alternate juror was substituted, and the newly composed jury was instructed to restart its deliberations from the beginning. The amended version of the statutory section relied upon by the trial court (N.C.G.S. § 15A-1215(a))–allowing a juror to be excused and an alternate juror to be substituted after the deliberations in a criminal trial had begun (altering the previous version of the law, which only allowed such a substitution before the case was submitted to the jury)–was upheld because it required that (1) no "more than 12 jurors participate in the jury's deliberations," and (2) after a substitution, the jury must begin its deliberations anew.

Summary from the North Carolina Reports digest (official subject index). Read the opinion →