§ 482. Fees of jury commissioners and jurors The jury commissioners shall receive the compensation, and the jurors of the district court of the Virgin Islands shall receive the fees and travel and subsistence allowances now or hereafter fixed by sections 1864 and 1871 of Title 28 of the United States Code. Senator SAM J. ERVIN, Jr., U.S. DISTRICT COURT, Chairman, Committee on Constitutional Rights, Washington, D.C. DEAR SENATOR ERVIN: Your letter of July 1st to Chief Judge Roy W. Harper was received on July 5th. Judge Harper left on that date for a Sentencing Institute in Denver, Colorado, and asked me to respond to your letter. Judge Harper will return to the city on July 25th and may desire to make some additional comments. I enclose a short statement of the manner in which our jurors are now selected in this district, along with a questionnaire which is sent to each juror prior to his selection. We do not require the Clerk or the Commissioners to make an annual report and have no statistical information available concerning our jurors. The following sections of R.S. Mo. 1959 are the pertinent sections of the Missouri law dealing with registration of voters: 113.010, 113.500, 116.010, 117.010 and 118.010. These sections generally provide for mandatory registration of voters in order to vote in the City of St. Louis, St. Louis County, and Jackson County (which is in the Western District of Missouri), and in cities containing a population of ten thousand or more. In all other counties within our district, registration of voters is optional and may be had by fifteen percent of the voters petitioning the county court to place it on a ballot to be voted on by the people. Registration has not been adopted in many of the counties in the Eastern District of Missouri. S3296, if it became law, would require us to have a greater number of persons that we now have on the list of qualified jurors in all divisions, since the minimum number would be two thousand for each division or one percent of the persons of voting age, whichever is the larger, if supplemental lists are used. $3296 also provides that at least one percent of the total number of persons on the registered voters list shall be placed in the master wheel. The City of St. Louis has approximately 306,000 registered voters, the County of St. Louis has approximately 381,000 registered voters. Accordingly, from these two counties alone it would be necessary that we maintain in the master list of the Eastern Division of this District 6,870 persons plus an appropriate additional list of persons from the other counties in this Division. Our present master list in the Eastern Division contains approximately 850 names and each of the other two divisions have approximately 500 names. To process the greater number of persons required by the Act would probably require additional personnel in the Office of the Clerk. In my personal opinion if $3296 became law, it would not result insofar as this District is concerned, in a more qualified jury or a different type jury than we presently have, but only greater numbers. With all best wishes. Sincerely, JAMES H. MEREDITH. JURY SELECTION, EASTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI The Jury Commission of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri is composed of the Court Clerk and a Court-appointed Commissioner from each Division of the District. This District has three Divisions: The Southeastern Division consisting of sixteen counties, which are essentially rural counties, except for Cape Girardeau County where court is held for the Division; the Northern Division consists of fifteen rural counties, court is held in Hannibal for the Division; and the Eastern Division consists of the City of St. Louis, which is a separate county, and St. Louis County, plus sixteen counties which are essentially rural counties, court is held in this Division in the City of St. Louis. By direction of the Court, separate jury wheels, each containing in excess of the three hundred names required by statute, are maintained in the office of the clerk at St. Louis, Cape Girardeau and Hannibal. The approximate number of names maintained in the wheel in each division is as follows: Eastern Division-850; Northern Division-500; Southeastern Division-500. It is the duty of the Jury Commission, subject to the supervision of the judges, to see that jurors are selected so as to include a representative cross-section of the community. Economic and social status, race, creed and color are not considered. The method and mechanics of qualification and selection has been left to the discretion of the Jury Commissioner and the Clerk. There is no statute prescribing this, but since it is the duty of the Clerk and Jury Commissioners to fill the jury wheel with names of "qualified persons," it is necessary to make inquiry in order to ascertain qualifications. The Clerk sends a questionnaire to each prospect and from his or her answers determines whether or not, in the opinion of the Clerk and Commissioner, he or she is qualified. A copy of the questionnaire is attached. After the questionnaire is returned, it is processed. If by the prospect's answers he is found qualified, a jury card bearing his name, address, occupation and age is prepared and subsequently deposited in the jury wheel. The jury wheel is from time to time refilled and old cards removed. The Judges from time to time remove names from the wheel when they find jurors have moved out of the District or are not physically capable because of hearing, sight, or other infirmities to serve. Juries are drawn by the Commissioner and the Clerk publicly in the general office of the Clerk and in the presence of the United States Marshal or one of his deputies. After this public drawing, summons are prepared by the Clerk and delivered to the Marshal and served by certified mail. Various methods are employed in obtaining names of prospective jurors. The one found most effective is for the Clerk and Commissioners to contact persons of integrity living in the various communities or counties comprising the District and ask them to furnish a list of persons residing in their area that, in their opinion, would make good jurors. These persons are solicited from time to time for additional names. We find that these persons provide lists containing names of persons of diversified occupations. Other sources are public directories or lists, such as current editions of city and county directories. We do not use voters rolls as a source of prospects for the reason that registration is not required of voters in most of the areas in this District. We try to obtain a geographical representation by population, determining the ratio of names to be deposited by use of the latest census figures. The end product of this method results in a qualified jury panel, with each panel having on it persons of all races, varied religious faiths, economic pursuits and standings and both sexes. U.S. DISTRICT COURT, EASTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI, OFFICE OF THE CLERK, ST. LOUIS, Mo. Resident of County You are a prospective juror in this Court. jury box, it is necessary that we have qualifications. Before your name is placed in the further information as to your This is not a request to appear for jury service. The Court has directed us to send this questionnaire in an effort to determine whether or not you are qualified to serve as a juror. Please answer all questions frankly. This information will be treated in the strictest confidence. If your name is placed in the jury box and at some later date you are selected to serve upon either a grand or petit jury, you will receive a summons by certified mail advising you when and where to report. If chosen as a petit juror, you would serve at Cape Girardeau, Missouri. A pre-addressed envelope which requires no postage is enclosed for your use in returning the questionnaire. Please do so promptly. LEE A. BOWMAN, Jury Commissioner. HAROLD G. PRYCE, Clerk. 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? Date: I certify that the foregoing statements are true to the best of my knowledge and belief. Signature Hon. SAM J. ERVIN, Jr., U.S. DISTRICT COURT, MIDDLE DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE, Chairman, Subcommittee on Constitutional Rights, DEAR SENATOR ERVIN: In reply to your letter of July 1, 1966, I have prepared the enclosed memorandum outlining in detail the procedures and mechanics used in the selection of jurors in the Middle District of Tennessee. Also, I have reviewed Title I of S. 3296 which is being considered by the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Constitutional Rights, and the following comments are submitted regarding the changes it would require in our present procedures. As outlined in the enclosed memorandum, the three principal steps in our present system are (1) the securing of names of persons qualified for federal jury service from individuals, or "suggesters," for inclusion in the jury box; (2) the drawing of names from the jury box; and (3) the appearance and qualification, in open court, of the jurors. As a result of the fidelity with which the court clerks and jury commissioners, under supervision of the Court, have applied themselves in this District to their duties in the administration of the jury system, our present procedures have operated successfully for many years, and were specifically upheld in the recent Hoffa and companion cases (United States v. Hoffa, 349 F. 2d 20 (C.A. 6, 1965), cert granted (review limited to questions not involving the jury) 382 U.S. 1024). Prior to those cases, the system had not been challenged by any litigant. Under Sections 1864, 1865 and 1866 of S. 3296, elaborate procedures entirely new in our District would be established, the four basic procedural steps being as follows: 1. The establishment and maintenance by the jury commission of a master jury wheel containing not less than 2,000 names selected at random from voter registration lists and from such other source or sources as the judicial council of the circuit, with such advice as the chief judge of the district may offer, shall prescribe. (Section 1864). 2. The drawing of names from the master wheel and the appearance before the clerk of each person whose name is drawn for the purpose of executing a juror qualification form. (Section 1865(a)). 3. The determination by the jury commission, on the basis of information provided in the juror qualification form, whether such person is qualified for or exempt from jury service. (Section 1866 (a)). 4. The maintenance of a qualified juror wheel containing the names of persons determined to be qualified as jurors; the drawing, from time to time, from the qualified juror wheel, of such number of names of persons as may be required for assignment of grand and petit jury panels; and the preparation by the jury commission or by the clerk of a separate list of names of persons assigned to each grand and petit jury panel. (Section 1866 (c)). It is also noted that Section 1865 (a) would prohibit, except for specified purposes, the disclosure of the names drawn from the master wheel. This would discontinue the Court's established policy and practice of making available to the public all lists of names of persons drawn for grand and petit jury service. Other provisions of Title I, including the declaration of policy, the prohibition of discrimination, and the requirements that complete records be maintained by the clerk and jury commissioners, are consistent with the long-established policies and practices of our Court and would effect no changes in our present procedures. I am in agreement with what I believe are the general objectives of Title I, but I feel strongly that it should be thoroughly considered by the Judicial Conference of the United States and by the American Law Institute before it is adopted. So far as our particular district is concerned, it would make the process of jury selection much more detailed and complex, but it is recognized that this is not a valid objection if the procedure will improve the quality of jury service and make our juries more nearly representative of the community. One feature of Title I which I question is the requirement that no person shall be required to serve as a petit juror for more than thirty calendar days in any two-year period. In my view, this period of service is entirely too short and will cause the jury process to lose the benefit of experience in handling different types of cases. Such experience is a valuable asset to the jury system and contributes materially to jury efficiency and dispatch, particularly in cases of some complexity. Another questionable feature of Title I, in my mind, is the provision allowing the defendant to challenge non-compliance at any time "prior to the introduction of evidence at trial." I feel that this cut-off time should be fixed at some reasonable period prior to the date the case is set for trial. Otherwise, unnecessary delays and disruptions could result. I am somewhat reluctant to express any opinion in regard to the jury aspects of Title II, since they concern the process of jury selection in the state courts and not in the federal courts. Obviously it is a drastic measure. I should hope that this portion of the Act, concerning, as it does, the administration of criminal justice by the states would be given the broadest and most intensive investigation. My personal experience has been that no additional procedures are needed in our district to protect the essential rights of state criminal defendants insofar as jury selection is concerned. This experience is derived from hundreds of habeas corpus reviews of state criminal convictions extending over eleven years. What we are after here, I would hope and suppose, is not uniformity of method throughout the United States, but essential fairness under the requirements of the due process and equal protection clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment. Aside from any question of congressional power, I feel that the best interests of justice will be subserved by allowing the states to devise their own practices and procedures for the administration of criminal justice, including the process of jury selection, so long as such practices and procedures are not essentially unfair, arbitrary or discriminatory. With kindest regards, I am, WILLIAM E. MILLER. U.S. DISTRICT COURT, Nashville. We plan to draw a jury in the near future and would appreciate it if you would send us the names of some persons in your commuity who are qualified for federal jury service. For your guidance and information we quote the pertinent provisions of the statute defining "Qualifications of Federal Jurors." "Any citizen of the United States who has attained the age of twenty-one years and who has resided for a period of one year within the judicial district, is competent to serve as a grand or petit juror, unless (1) He has been convicted in a State or Federal Court of record of a crime punishable by imprisonment for more than one year and his civil rights have not been restored by pardon or amnesty. (2) He is unable to read, write, speak, and understand the English language. (3) He is incapable, by reason of mental or physical infirmities to render efficient jury service." What we ask from you is a list of persons for this important public service which will be a fair cross-section of the entire population of your community, representing both men and women of all races in all walks of life and having a variety of backgrounds, occupations, callings, economic classifications, religious and political affiliations, and other recognized groupings or classifications. For your convenience, we are enclosing a blank form on which you may list the names, together with a self-addressed franked envelope. We would appreciate it if you would send us your list of names as soon as possible. Very truly yours, BRANDON LEWIS, Clerk. IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE UNITED STATES FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE NAME ADDRESS COUNTY It is my opinion that the above named citizens will meet the qualifications of Federal Jurors as outlined in your letter. MEMORANDUM (S) RE procedures in the selection of jurors in the U.S. District Court for the middle District of Tennessee. The following is a brief outline and discussion of the mechanics and procedures used in the selection of jurors in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee. GRAND AND PETIT JURIES AND THEIR PERIODS OF SERVICE The Middle District of Tennessee comprises three Divisions, viz., the Nashville Division, the Northeastern Division, and the Columbia Division. By order entered November 13, 1963, the times and places for commencing regular sessions of court in the three Divisions are: For the Nashville Division: At Nashville, Tennessee, on the first Monday in March and the first Monday in October. For the Northeastern Division: At Cokeville, Tennessee, on the third Monday in May. |