California Cases in Which Jurors Were Discharge

In People v. Thomas (1994) 26 Cal.App.4th 1328, the record indicated the juror "failed to perform his duty to deliberate before reaching his decision. The juror did not answer the questions posed to him by other jurors, did not sit at the table with the other jurors during deliberations, acted as if he had already made up his mind before hearing the whole case, and did not look at the two victims in the courtroom." (Thomas, supra, at p. 1333.) In People v. Feagin (1995) 34 Cal.App.4th 1427, the record showed the juror was not deliberating with the other jurors, was not explaining her viewpoints, brought up issues of race not based on the evidence, and had indicated to the other jurors that her mind was already made up and she was not going to change her mind, even on issues that had not yet been discussed. (Feagin, supra, at pp. 1435-1437.) Both cases concluded the jurors had been properly discharged. (Thomas at p. 1333; Feagin at p. 1437.)