Opinion
June 14, 1993
Appeal from the Supreme Court, Queens County (Linakis, J.).
Ordered that the judgment is reversed, on the law, and a new trial is ordered. No questions of fact have been raised or considered.
We agree with the defendant's contention that the trial court improvidently discharged a sworn juror without first conducting "a reasonably thorough inquiry and recitation on the record of the facts and reasons for invoking the statutory authorization of discharging and replacing [the] juror based on continued unavailability" (People v. Page, 72 N.Y.2d 69, 73; see, CPL 270.35; see, People v. Davis, 178 A.D.2d 424, 425). Therefore, the defendant's judgment of conviction must be reversed and a new trial ordered (People v. Taylor, 154 A.D.2d 634, 635; affd 76 N.Y.2d 873). Miller, J.P., Ritter, Copertino and Pizzuto, JJ., concur.