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Don't bet jurors will start from scratch: experts
It's highly unusual, jury experts say, for a judge to bounce jurors and replace them with alternates once trial deliberations start, as U.S. District Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer did Tuesday in Gov. George Ryan's corruption trial. Pallmeyer even noted in open court that it's something she's never done before. She instructed jurors to "completely put your prior deliberations out of your mind. You must treat this case as if the prior deliberations did not occur." At this point, that's really the only way to avoid a mistrial and starting the expensive, months-long trial all over again, said Paula Hannaford-Agor, director of jury studies for the National Center for State Courts. "It's obscure. . . . As long as jurors are instructed to start from scratch, it's not an abuse of discretion to substitute alternates after deliberations have started," she said. "This way, [she] can possibly avoid a new trial by having a verdict and a basis for appeal." … DePaul Law Professor Stephan Landsman says changes in the jury's "group dynamic" could make a difference in Ryan's fate. "It's a very interesting social science. There's evidence that one juror will never hang a jury; you need at least two," he said. "If . . . two jurors were lost from one side, that side may be overcome. We're not in uncharted waters but we're in waters that are pretty murky."
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