Pollitt v. State

CHASANOW, Judge.

In this case we are called upon to decide whether the Court of Special Appeals erred in holding that when a juror is excused immediately after the jury is sworn with no alternates, the trial judge may sua sponte select a replacement juror without allowing the defendant an additional peremptory challenge. We hold that the Court of Special Appeals did err, and we reverse.

I

In the early morning hours of Christmas day 1994, Petitioner, Frederick Pollitt, went to his mother-in-law’s house to visit his estranged wife. An argument erupted outside the house between Petitioner and his…