Alternate Juror
An alternate juror acts as a replacement for members of the jury (jurors).
Jurors are citizens who are selected by the district court to be part of a jury. The jury listens to all the facts and findings of the case. The jury will also have to consider the arguments and counterarguments put forth by the plaintiff(s) and defendant(s). The jury analyzes all the available information and makes an impartial decision.
An alternate juror is the same as a juror. The district court randomly picks names from its list of registered voters and people with drivers licenses. The citizen also has to be a resident of the district. The selected citizens will be asked to complete a questionnaire. If the answers are satisfactory, they will be summoned to appear for jury duty. They will be seated alongside jurors in court and take the oath with them. They will also be treated the same as the jurors.
Like jurors, alternate jurors have to be present in court and listen to the proceedings. The alternate juror also hears the evidence and the arguments in court, just like the jurors. But alternate jurors aren’t made part of the jury that delivers the verdict.
Alternate jurors will be considered as part of the jury only when one or more jurors are unavailable. The reasons are listed below.
- Death
- Sickness
- Injury
- Family emergency
- Incapacitated
Listed above are the circumstances under which an alternate juror replaces a juror. However, there are also instances where members of the jury are disqualified by the court. The removed juror may be biased against one of the parties in the trial. A juror being in touch with the defendant or the plaintiff is considered grounds for juror dismissal. Refusing to obey the laws laid down by the court can also lead to a juror being discharged from jury duty.
Another instance in which jurors may be dismissed is for their refusal to deliberate. Some jurors may be removed if they have made their decision in advance and do not engage in deliberation. A juror sleeping during proceedings is also considered a reason for their dismissal.
Alternate jurors are considered a part of the jury only up to a certain stage. The court dismisses them when the jury receives the case and moves on to deliberation.
Alternate jurors follow the same set of rules as jurors. They receive the same amount of compensation as well. In some instances, alternate jurors may be grouped with the jurors. Just like jurors, alternate jurors are answerable to the court for missing jury duty and failing to obey court rules.
