United States v. Foster

Rule of Law:

Parties in a criminal trial may validly waive the provisions of Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 24(c) by stipulating to the substitution of an alternate juror after deliberations have begun. Such a waiver remains binding even amidst unforeseen and dramatic turns of events during deliberations, provided the initial waiver was not coerced and the substitution does not result in prejudice to the defendant.

Facts:

• Gregory Foster was the head of a heroin distribution organization in the San Diego area.
• The organization operated by having street-level pushers telephone an answering service to place orders, which were then relayed to suppliers via beepers.
• Foster and others, including Johnnie Gibson, cut and packaged heroin into balloons for wholesale distribution to the pushers.
• Minyon Logan, a pusher for the organization, testified that Gibson supplied her with heroin and a beeper, and she kept a ledger recording her drug transactions.
• Logan observed Foster and Gibson together cutting and filling balloons with heroin.
• Ronald Wilson purchased heroin directly from a witness, drove a car registered to Foster, and used a beeper from the same company as other members of the organization.
• Billy Jackson sold heroin to an informant, Harvey Callier, and was recorded on tape discussing Foster's role and recent arrests within the organization.
• Government agents obtained and executed search warrants on the residences of Foster, Gibson, and other members of the conspiracy.

Procedural Posture:

• Gregory Foster, Johnnie Gibson, Billy Jackson, and Ronald Wilson were indicted in the United States District Court on federal drug conspiracy and possession charges.
• The defendants' pre-trial motions to suppress evidence from searches of their residences for lack of probable cause were denied by the trial court.
• During the trial, all parties signed a written stipulation waiving Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 24(c) and agreeing to retain two alternate jurors who could be substituted for good cause after deliberations began.
• After an eight-and-a-half-day trial, the jury began deliberations.
• On the fifth day of deliberations, after the jury sent notes indicating it was deadlocked, the trial judge gave the jury a modified Allen charge.
• On the sixth day, the court excused one juror for good cause. Appellants Foster, Gibson, and Jackson then waived their right to a twelve-person jury and agreed to proceed with eleven jurors.
• The eleven-person jury returned guilty verdicts against Foster, Gibson, and Jackson.
• An alternate juror was then seated, creating a new twelve-person jury to deliberate on the charges against appellant Wilson, who had not waived his right to a twelve-person jury.
• The reconstituted jury began deliberations anew and returned a guilty verdict against Wilson.
• All four appellants appealed their convictions to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.