Texas Supreme Court advisory
Contact: Osler McCarthy, staff attorney for public information
512.463.1441 or click for email
Wednesday, August 6, 2006
TASK FORCE STUDYING JURY-SELECTION ISSUES
SETS AGENDA FOR FIRST MEETING FRIDAY
The Texas Supreme Court’s recently appointed 29-member task force to study improvements for how juries are selected for trials in the state will have its initial meeting Friday in the Supreme Court courtroom.
The meeting of the Task Force on Jury Assembly and Administration will begin at 9 a.m. and is set to end at 5 p.m.
The task force is charged with reporting findings and recommendations to the Court by December 1, 2006, on procedures to assure random jury selection.
Regional Presiding Judge David Peeples of San Antonio is chair. Justice Paul W. Green will be the Court’s liaison. The task force was created by Supreme Court order in July.
Judge Peeples set the following agenda for the first meeting:
1. Call to order, introductions.
2. Remarks of Justice Green.
3. Discussion of timetable and scheduling.
4. Discussion of reasons for task force.
5. Discussion of bullet points stated in the Supreme Court's order creating task force.
6. Assignments for next meeting.
7. Adjourn.
Among the task force’s charges:
• assess the reliability of voter registration and drivers license lists used to call jurors for duty and whether revisions are needed to existing procedures for merging the lists.
• assess the need for uniform jury plans or statewide approval for jury plans, including a depository for local jury plans.
• assess designating and training officials who shuffle and randomize jury lists and summon jurors for duty.
• assess procedures for enforcing jury summonses that have been disregarded.
• assess how jury excuses, exemptions and service postponements are handled and recorded.
• assess procedures for random jury selection and disbursement from the central gathering point to different courtrooms.
The task force will review jury procedures for both civil and criminal trials.