Ok, pay attention. Simply making a note on the record of a juror sleeping during trial or jury charge will not preserve the issue of whether the juror’s sleeping deprived a defendant of the right to a jury trial by 12 of his peers on appeal, according to the latest case on the issue in Commonwealth v. Strunk, 2008 Pa. Super. 149 (Pa. Super. 2008). The defendant’s lawyer must specifically request either a curative instruction, a mistrial, the seating of an alternate juror or some other corrective measure to to properly preserve the issue for appeal.
If you enjoyed this post, check out this article about criminal defense.
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