Conn. Crim. Jury Instr. 2.10-5

Deliberations have Begun

New, May 10, 2012

As you know, juror # ___ was excused from the jury. It was a decision of the court to excuse

(him/her), and an alternate juror has been selected to take (his/her) place. Please do not speculate

on the reason why that juror was excused.1

As of this moment, you are a new jury, and you must start your deliberations over again. The

parties have the right to a verdict reached by (six / twelve) jurors who have had the full

opportunity to deliberate from start to finish. The alternate juror has no knowledge of any earlier

deliberations. Consequently, the new deliberating jury must start over at the very beginning of

deliberations. Each member of the original deliberating jury must set aside and disregard

whatever may have occurred and anything which may have been said in the jury room following

my instructions to you. You must give no weight to any opinion expressed by juror # __ during

deliberations before (he/she) was excused. Together, as a new jury, you must consider all

evidence presented at trial as part of your full and complete deliberations until you reach your

verdict.

1 If the reason for the juror’s dismissal is neutral, it is usually best to explain it to the remaining

jurors.