STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5004
2013-2014 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
May 3, 2013
___________
Introduced by Sen. BONACIC -- (at request of the Office of Court Admin-
istration) -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be
committed 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:
1 Section 1. Section 4106 of the civil practice law and rules, as
2 amended by chapter 336 of the laws of 1972, is amended to read as
3 follows:
4 § 4106. Alternate jurors. [Unless the court, in its discretion, orders
5 otherwise, one] One or [two] more additional jurors, to be known as
6 "alternate jurors", may be drawn upon the request of a party and consent
7 of the court. Such alternate juror or jurors shall be drawn at the same
8 time, from the same source, in the same manner, and have the same quali-
9 fications as [the] regular jurors, and be subject to the same examina-
10 tions and challenges. They shall be seated with, take the oath with, and
11 be treated in the same manner as the regular jurors[, except that
12 after]. After final submission of the case, the court [shall discharge
13 the] may, in its discretion, retain such alternate juror or jurors[. If]
14 to ensure availability if needed. At any time, before or after the final
15 submission of the case, if a regular juror dies, or becomes ill, or [for
16 any other reason] is unable to perform [his duty] the duties of a juror,
17 the court may order [him to be] that juror discharged and draw the name
18 of an alternate, or retained alternate, if any, who shall replace the
19 discharged juror [in the jury box], and be treated as if [he] that juror
20 had been selected as one of the regular jurors. Once deliberations have
21 begun, the court may allow an alternate juror to participate in such
22 deliberations only if a regular juror becomes unable to perform the
23 duties of a juror.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD09911-01-3
S. 5004 2
1 § 2. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed-
2 ing the date on which it shall have become a law and shall apply to all
3 actions commenced on or after such effective date and to all pending
4 actions on such effective date in which a jury has not yet been
5 selected.
