What is the legal test for excusing a juror during deliberations?

In deference to the district court's superior vantage point, we review the district court's dismissal of a juror during deliberations for abuse of discretion. Id. at 806. Factual findings are reviewed for clear error. Id. Under our cases, "[t]he decision to excuse a juror is committed to the district court's discretion and we must affirm unless we are left with the definite and firm conviction that the court committed a clear error of judgment in reaching its conclusion after weighing the relevant factors." Id. (quoting United States v. Beard , 161 F.3d 1190, 1194 (9th Cir. 1998) ).

We applied these legal principles in one of the leading cases in this area, United States v. Symington , 195 F.3d 1080 (1999). In Symington , several days into deliberations following a long and complex trial, the court received a jury note complaining that "[o]ne juror has stated their final

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