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People v. Thornton8/16/2002
not even if the properly constituted jury would have come to the same decision in the end. Here the record is clear, no provisions were made whereby a proper verdict could be rendered by less than the full complement of jurors. It is also equally clear that the ill juror's gastrointestinal distress occurred after the jury had begun deliberating in earnest, but before a final vote was taken. That is where the process had broken down. It is by the wisdom of the framers of our Constitution that, though we might guess or wish along certain lines, our system makes it impossible for us to say what would have happened in that jury room had this juror not taken ill during the deliberations. Whether she would have concurred in the ultimate verdict is, under these facts and unusual circumstances, largely irrelevant. We should not, since there are constitutional ramifications involved, disregard something as being de minimis simply because the ultimate result might have been the same. The jury process was interfered with in a way that impacts on Thornton's constitutional rights. As such, I stand alone on my belief that he should be tried again.
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