Question: Can a party invite error during jury deliberations relating to the removal of a juror and then appeal after the verdict does not go their way?
Answer: No. At trial, a defendant argued that the trial court committed fundamental error by discharging juror without creating the appropriate record. Once jury deliberations have begun, the discharge of a juror is warranted only in the most extreme situations where it can be shown that the removal of the juror is necessary for the integrity of the process, does not prejudice the deliberations of the rest of the panel, and does not impair the parties right to a trial by jury. Here, the trial court did not remove a willing juror, but instead dismissed her because she was experiencing pain in her legs during deliberations which the trial court informed the remaining jurors that this was the reason for her removal. Further, Defendant’s attorney affirmatively agreed to the removal of juror. Thus, the record establishes that defendant invited the error when her counsel affirmatively agreed to the removal of the juror. Defendant’s counsel was in the best position to observe the juror throughout trial and to make a reasoned decision whether to keep her on the jury. Based on the record, the appellate court concluded that defendant engaged in a rational, albeit unsuccessful, trial strategy and cannot now be heard to complain about that issue of removal of the juror.
