Grimstead v. Brockington, 417 Md. 332

Summary

The Maryland Court of Appeals affirmed the reversal of a medical malpractice judgment because the trial court improperly allowed alternate jurors to attend deliberations and substituted them for regular jurors during deliberations. The court also addressed the substitution of a deceased party during appellate proceedings and the parties’ positions regarding waiver of the applicable procedural requirements.

Holdings

1. The motion to dismiss the writ of certiorari was denied because the initial appeal was filed while Grimstead was alive, a personal representative was subsequently appointed and substituted, and Brockington failed to show unfair prejudice from the delay.
2. Alternate jurors who do not replace regular jurors must be discharged when the jury retires to consider its verdict and therefore may not be present in the jury room during deliberations.
3. A trial court may not substitute an alternate juror for a regular juror after the jury has retired to deliberate, even when the regular juror later becomes unable to continue.
4. Brockington did not waive his objection to the mid-deliberation substitutions because he consistently objected to replacing regular jurors after deliberations began, notwithstanding his earlier failure to object to the alternates' presence in the jury room.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the Court of Appeals should dismiss the certiorari proceeding because Grimstead died before the Court of Special Appeals issued its opinion and before a personal representative was substituted.
2. Whether Maryland Rule 2-512(b) permitted alternate jurors to remain in the jury room during civil jury deliberations.
3. Whether Maryland Rule 2-512(b) permitted substitution of alternate jurors for regular jurors after the regular jury had begun deliberating.
4. Whether Brockington's prior consent to the alternate-juror procedure waived his objection to the mid-deliberation substitutions.

Disposition

affirmed