United States v. Ibrahim Yousef

MEMORANDUM

Appellant Ibrahim A. Yousef (Yousef) challenges the district court’s denial of his motion for a mistrial and motion for a new trial premised on the participation of two alternate jurors during jury deliberations in violation of Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 24(c).

“We generally review the district court’s denial of a motion for a mistrial for abuse of discretion.” United States v. Banks, 514 F.3d 959, 973 (9th Cir.2008) (citations omitted). “We [also] review for abuse of discretion a district court’s denial of a motion for a new trial.” United States v. Moses, 496 F.3d 984, 987 (9th Cir.2007) (citations omitted).

The participation of the alternate jurors in jury deliberations was no doubt a violation of Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 24(c). See United States v. Olano, 507 U.S. 725, 737 , 113 S.Ct. 1770 , 123 L.Ed.2d 508 (1993). However, the mere presence of alternate jurors does not warrant a reversal, given appropriate jury instructions. See id. at 740-41 , 113 S.Ct. 1770 . "When a district court instructs a newly reconstituted jury to begin deliberations anew, we should presume that the jury’s deliberations conformed to that instruction. See United States…