therein at his usual* [residence business] address. The addressee's receipt for the2 [certified registered] summons is attached hereto). 8. Can you read, write, speak, and understand the English language? 9. If naturalized, state when 10. What education have you had? 11. Are you employed at present? 12. Nature of business? 13. Employer's name 14. Business address (Where) (Occupation). 15. a. If you are married, give occupation of wife or husband__ b. If you are a married woman, give occupation before marriage c. If you are retired, or not working, give last occupation 16. Have you ever been convicted of a crime? If so, state date, court and crime 17. Have you ever served as a juror? If so, in what Court? and when? 18. Have you any disability impairing your capacity to serve as a juror, including impaired eyesight or hearing? If so, state its nature and extent. (Yes or No) 19. Do you know any reason why you cannot serve as a juror? If so, state reason fully under remarks. I certify that the foregoing statements are true to the best of my knowledge and belief. Committee on the Judiciary, U.S. Senate, DEAR SENATOR ERVIN: After receipt of your yetter of July 1, 1966, because of his intimate contact with our juror selection machinery in this District Court, I requested the Clerk of the Court, W. Arthur Dwyer, to provide a statement concerning such procedures. The statement is enclosed, and in my judgment, based upon my experience of eighteen years as a District Judge, gives an accurate, detailed portrayal of the system as it has operated in this District for many years. Also, as you requested, is a copy of the letter-notice and the questionnaire sent to the prospective jurors for execution and return. In this District the jury system has worked well. There always has been a good cross-section of citizens from the different counties in our large district where Court is being held available for jury duty. Our Jury Commissioners are outstanding, responsible citizens, who accept the burden as a civic duty. Our jury selection I think has worked satisfactorily for many years. We have had no serious complaint about our jurors from lawyers, litigants or the general public. At one time in a case which I tried many years ago there was a challenge to our practice in selecting the jurors only from the county where court was being held instead of from a broader base. Such practice, used solely to save jurors the necessity of traveling considerable distances, was approved by the Court of Appeals, Second Circuit. (See U.S. v. Titus, 2 Cir., 210 F. 2d 210, at 212–213.) It has been a pleasure and honor to correspond with you. If there is any further information we can supply, we shall be most willing to do so. Sincerely, JAMES T. FOLEY. Chief Judge. UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK JURY SELECTION MACHINERY FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK The United States District Court for the Northern District of New York comprises 29 counties with its outer limits in excess of 300 miles apart, thereby necessitating four separate Master Panels of Jurors, one panel for each of the four cities wherein court is designated to be held. Pursuant to court order, the Master Panel of Jurors for the four cities where court is held are selected only from the county encompassing the city wherein a term of court is held. Court is held in the cities of Albany, Syracuse, Utica, and Auburn. The respective Commissioners of the four cities are set out below, and from talking with them, pursuant to the inquiry, it is my understanding they obtain their lists of prospective jurors in the county they serve in the following manner: John Campbell, Albany County, secures his names from the tax rolls, City Directory, rosters of various clubs and organizations, together with personal selections he himself chooses to make. Benjamin Stone, Onondaga County, obtains his names from voting rolls, of the county, telephone directory, personal acquaintances, and to a degree some names from organizations. Vernon Evans, Oneida County, selects his names from the City Directory, telephone book, organizations, names furnished by acquaintances who submit people they feel would be qualified jurors, and the voting list of Oneida County. Harold McDonald, Cayuga County, secures his names from the voting list of the County of Cayuga, personal acquaintances, organizations, and telephone directory. The Clerk secures his names from service clubs, labor organizations, civil service rolls, civic organizations (such as N.A.A.C.P., Chamber of Commerce, Auxiliary organizations, etc.), postmasters in the various towns and villages throughout the county who submit names of their patrons, and the telephone directory. The ministerial procedure of selecting the names is the same for each of the four counties set out above. The jury Commissioner and the Clerk agree upon a given number of names to be submitted, and when the names are compiled in the Clerk's office, questionnaires, a copy of which is enclosed, are submitted to each of the prospective jurors, together with a self-addressed envelope. On the return of said questionnaire, the Clerk, as a member of the commission, passes upon the qualifications. The ineligible and the eligible questionnaires are retained for as long as the master panel is still in use. The four commissioners who submitted the names peruse the questionnaires, and in all past instances have approved the Clerk's determination as to eligibility. The names of the eligible jurors are placed upon master index, a copy of which is forwarded to the jury commissioner; and jury slips for each juror are made setting forth thereon the name, address, occupation of the juror and the occupation of the spouse. The commission in all respects follow the sections of the U.S. Code commencing with section 1861 in regard to the drawing of petit and grand jurors for a stated term of court. UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT, Utica, N.Y. DEAR SIR OR MADAM: Your name is on a list of persons who are being considered for Jury Service in the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York in the County in which you reside. In order to assist in determining whether you meet the legal requirements for service as a juror to sit at Federal Court at Auburn, New York, you are requested to furnish the information and answer the questions on the attached questionnaire and return it within five (5) days, using the enclosed self-addressed envelope which requires no postage. Compliance with the request made herein is essential to the public interest and your cooperation is respectfully requested. Very truly yours, JURY COMMISSION, Clerk of the Court. 1. Name: 2. Address: UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT (Fill out questionnaire in own handwriting) Print full name ( 3 _Male () Married Street and No. or R. D. Route-City, Town or Village 3. Are you a citizen of the United States?:. 4. Name of County in which you reside?:. 5. Have you resided in the County in which you now reside for a period of one year or more? If the answer is "No" give the names of other Counties in which you have resided during the past year:. 6. Age: Date of Last Birthday :. 7. Education (last schooling) :. 8. Principal Occupation : 9. Other Occupation or Employment: 10. Name and Address of Employer:___ 11. Give husband's or wife's name and occupation:- 12. Have you ever been convicted in a State or Federal Court of Record of a If the answer is "yes", give name or type of of crime?: fense: 13. Are you able to read, write, speak and understand the English language?: 14. Are you incapable, by reason of mental or physical infirmities to render efficient jury service?:. If so, 15. Do you claim to be legally exempt from jury service?: give basis of claim:___ I certify that the information furnished above and that the answers to the foregoing questions are true and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief. Dated: 19___ (Signed) (Eligible) UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT, WESTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA, Pittsburgh, Pa., July 8, 1966. Hon. SAM J. ERVIN, Jr., Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary, U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C. DEAR SENATOR ERVIN: I have for consideration your letter of July 1, 1966 relative to Senate Bill 3296 in which you invite comments as to the provisions of the Bill as it relates to jury selection. I am enclosing herewith a detailed statement of the procedure used in our district relative to the selection of juries, and I might state that in my 21 years as a member of the United States District Court, 15 of which have been in the capacity of chief judge, during said period of time we have followed and applied the same procedure. The method of placing individuals on the master jury wheel and the selection of juries was approved by the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and the writ of certiorari was denied by the Supreme Court of the United States. If there is any comment which I have made that is not understood, if you would be kind enough to advise, I will be most happy to explain in greater detail. Most sincerely, WALLACE S. GOURLEY. IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA AT PITTSBURGH AND ERIE JURY SYSTEM All jurors who serve in Federal Court are recommended by various organizations which are contacted by letter by the Clerk's Office and the Jury Commissioner. In order to get a cross section of jurors, organizations are contacted by letter in all of the twenty-five counties which come under the jurisdiction of this Court. We write to the following oranizations to obtain jurors: Boards of Trade-Labor organizations-Veterans' Associations-Kiwanis'-Rotaries— Parent-Teacher organizations and judges. We do not take recommendations from political parties—lawyers— churches or church organizations, or any organization which would exclude groups of people. Associations-N.A.A.Ç.P.—Grange-Civic After recommendations are received in this office, a questionnaire is sent to each individual with a self addressed envelope for its return. On the back of this questionnaire we type the source from which we received the name of the prospective juror. When the filled-in questionnaire is returned by the prospective juror, it is checked by one of the deputy clerks for qualification. The jury commissioner checks those which he sends out, and these are kept separate from the clerk's. Generally most of them qualify, but we do not accept the ones in poor health or with a criminal record. If they qualify, a master card and wheel card are typed and filed alphabetically in each county. Names are placed in the wheel on a percentage basis according to the population of each county taken from the latest census, by the Clerk and Jury Commissioner in equal number. When placing names in the jury wheel, they are selected at random or by lot (about one half women and one half men from each county). We have a jury commissioner in Pittsburgh and another at Erie, Pa. When the time comes for the drawing of names from the wheel, an Order is signed by the Court in which the number of jurors to be called is specified. After the Order is received from the Court, publication of the drawing of a jury panel is printed in the Pittsburgh Legal Journal so that anyone interested may appear to observe the jury being drawn. On the prescribed day, and time, the Clerk and Jury Commissioner draw alternately from the wheel the specified number of jurors names: Allowance for sickness and business excuses figure about 20%. An alphabetical list of jurors is then stenciled, summons' to jurors made up and sent by certified mail by the United States Marshal. A note is put on the summons that if for any reason the juror cannot serve, a letter must be submitted to the Court by the juror prior to the date he is to appear for jury service. As excuses come in, each one is studied and submitted to the Court for final approval, and if the excuse is legitimate, the juror is excused by Order of Court. A list of the jurors is made available to any attorney with a trial on the list, by local rule, said attorney first signing an affidavit that he will not contact a member of the juror's family or the juror himself in an effort to obtain information about said juror. We maintain 300 to 600 jurors in the wheel at all times. We find that to have more than 1,000 in the wheel increases the percentages of individuals who die, move from district or otherwise change their status making jury service inconvenient for them such as change of jobs, new babies, etc. By keeping current, fewer individuals ask to be excused. Our rate of requests, as mentioned above runds approximately 20%. After a juror has served once, we place his wheel card in a suspence file, and do not use this juror again for a period of three years by local practice. However, it is our policy not to have repeats, but to attempt to make jury service available for a greater number of citizens in our district. This District uses a large number of jurors because we operate under what is called the "Standby Jury System". In other words a jury is selected for each judge and after the court rooms are filled, three or four additional juries are selected so that as soon as a judge completes a case either by settlement or jury deliberation prior to verdict, we are able to immediately supply the judge with another jury. We use approximately 2,500 jurors a year at Pittsburgh and approximately 200 a year at Erie. IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA COMMENTS ON SENATE BILL 3296 We note that Section 1865 requires the Jury Commission to draw the names from the wheel, and then directs the prospective juror to appear before the Clerk and fill out a jury qualification form. It has been the practice of this Court not to place any cards in the wheel until the application form has been studied by the jury commissioner or the Clerk. Of course our form is mailed to the prospective juror to be completed by the prospective juror himself. The new system would require the juror to appear in either Pittsburgh or Erie and we fail to see any provision in this Section for reimbursement of the said prospective juror for traveling expenses and time. Also, it must be understood that in this District people travel to Pittsburgh and Erie from distances of up to and over 100 miles. It would appear to perhaps create a hardship for them to appear at either place without reimbursement. Our questionnaire contains no provision for giving race or religion of a prospective juror. It is not clear to me as to what happens to an individual after he completes a questionnaire and is deemed qualified. Are those cards to be placed in another jury wheel, and when it is necessary to summon jurors for duty, another drawing is made from this second wheel which would contain those cards of citizens whom the jury commissioner and the Clerk deemed qualified? This Court has at various times considered using the Voters Registration Lists, but so far we have been able to operate under the present system of obtaining a sufficient number from the recommendation system. It would appear to me that under the system proposed by Senate Bill 3296 that this Court would require additional employees to handle the questionnaire part and interview the prospective jurors personally. The jury system of this Court was sustained by the United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in the case of Dow v. Carnegie Illinois, 225 Fed. 2d 414. Certiorari denied 350 U.S. 971. PRESIDENT OR SECRETARY, JAMES H. WALLACE, Jr., Clerk. UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT, WESTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA, Pittsburgh, Pa., December 17, 1965. Allison Park Elementary School P.T.A. DEAR SIR OR MADAM: We are interested in securing the names of reliable persons, both men and women to place in the jury wheel for Federal Court at Pittsburgh for 1966 or thereafter, and we thought you might be in a position to recommend some suitable persons for such jury service. Our system is called the "recommendation system." We take recommendations from organizations which do not exclude groups of people such as ParentTeacher Associations, Labor Organizations, Veteran Associations and similar associations. |