United States v. Richard Lowell Stratton, Steven Parness, Leonard Parness, and Bernard Farbar

JON 0. NEWMAN, Circuit Judge:

This appeal concerns primarily the validity of a verdict returned in a criminal trial by an eleven-person jury, after a juror was excused during deliberations pursuant to the recently amended Rule 23(b) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. Richard Stratton, Steven Parness, Leonard Parness, and Bernard Farbar appeal from judgments of conviction entered in the District Court for the Southern District of New York (Constance Baker Motley, Chief Judge) following a jury trial. All appellants but Stratton were convicted of conspiracy either to distribute drugs or…