What is the test for selecting an alternate juror in a trial by jury?

The one exception has been the most likely candidate, that archetypical bridesmaid of a trial by jury, the alternate juror. In People v. Bruneman, supra, 4 Cal.App.2d 75, 40 P.2d 891, the court considered first whether that presence of two alternate jurors in the jury room during deliberations was an invasion [196 Cal.App.3d 433] of the right to a jury trial and next whether that invasion was so fundamental that it could not be rendered harmless by the defendant's consent to the procedure. The court answered both questions in the affirmative. It reasoned that the presence of silent alternate jurors must influence the deliberations in a manner which cannot be seen or felt; thus the jury must be considered to consist of more than twelve members. Since the court also concluded the defendant could not consent to any number of jurors other than twelve (a now discredited

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