Judge upholds decision to dismiss juror ahead of week 6 of testimony
Judge Arun Subramanian declined on Monday to change his mind about juror No.6, upholding his decision to remove the juror and replace him with an alternate.
"The record raised serious concerns as to the juror's candor and whether he shaded answers to get on and stay on the jury," Subramanian said. "There's nothing the juror could say at this point to put the genie back in the bottle."
The first alternate juror is a 57-year-old architect from Westchester.
The judge said he took seriously the defense concern about race -- juror No.6 is Black -- but he said, "this jury does not raise those concerns." He also said it is "inappropriate to consider race" in deciding whether the juror's responses to questions about where he lived were appropriate.
At the conclusion of court on Friday, Judge Subramanian dismissed juror No.6 over what he said were "inconsistencies" in statements the juror made about where he lived, saying that the alleged inconsistencies raised questions about the juror's candor and ability to follow instructions.
