S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
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                                  10376

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                              May 24, 2012
                               ___________

Introduced  by M. of A. SKARTADOS, WEINSTEIN -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M.
  of A. DINOWITZ, LAVINE, SIMOTAS, TITONE, ZEBROWSKI -- (at  request  of
  the  Office  of Court Administration) -- read once and referred to the
  Committee on Judiciary

AN ACT to amend the civil practice law and rules,  in  relation  to  the
  discretionary  retention of alternate jurors after final submission of
  the case

  THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section  1.  Section  4106  of  the  civil  practice law and rules, as
amended by chapter 336 of the laws  of  1972,  is  amended  to  read  as
follows:
  S 4106. Alternate jurors. [Unless the court, in its discretion, orders
otherwise,  one]  ONE  or  [two]  MORE additional jurors, to be known as
"alternate jurors", may be drawn upon the request of a party AND CONSENT
OF THE COURT.  Such ALTERNATE jurors shall be drawn at  the  same  time,
from  the  same source, in the same manner, and have the same qualifica-
tions as [the] regular jurors, and be subject to the  same  examinations
and  challenges.  They  shall be seated with, take the oath with, and be
treated in the same manner as the regular jurors[, except  that  after].
AFTER final submission of the case, the court [shall discharge the] MAY,
IN  ITS  DISCRETION, RETAIN SUCH alternate jurors[. If] TO ENSURE AVAIL-
ABILITY IF NEEDED. AT ANY TIME, before OR AFTER the final submission  of
the  case,  a  regular  juror  dies,  or  becomes ill, or [for any other
reason] is unable to perform [his duty] THE DUTIES OF A JUROR, the court
may order [him to be] THAT JUROR discharged and  draw  the  name  of  an
alternate,  OR  RETAINED  ALTERNATE,  IF  ANY,  who  shall  replace  the
discharged juror [in the jury box,] and be treated as if [he] THAT JUROR
had been selected as one of the regular jurors.  ONCE DELIBERATIONS HAVE
BEGUN, THE COURT MAY ALLOW AN ALTERNATE JUROR  TO  PARTICIPATE  IN  SUCH
DELIBERATIONS  ONLY  IF  A  REGULAR  JUROR BECOMES UNABLE TO PERFORM THE
DUTIES OF A JUROR.
  S 2. This act shall take effect on the first of January next  succeed-
ing  the date on which it shall have become a law and shall apply to all
actions commenced on or after such date and to all  pending  actions  in
which a jury has not yet been selected.

              

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD14029-02-2