Tuesday, July 11, 2006
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF TEXAS
Misc. Docket No. 06-9057
ORDER CREATING TASK FORCE ON JURY ASSEMBLY & ADMINISTRATION
ORDERED:
The jury's role in the legal system is critical. Given the importance of its function, the jury must be chosen from a fair cross section of the community, and the procedures for selecting the pool of prospective jurors must be fair and open. Juror source pools must be assembled so as to assure representativeness and inclusiveness, and selection procedures must be thoroughly random. To assure these fundamental principles are realized in Texas, the Court hereby establishes the Task Force on Jury Assembly and Administration and appoints the following members:
- Hon. Manuel Banales Corpus Christi
- Hon. Levi Benton Houston
- Lori Ann Bodino Dallas
- Kathy Byers Houston
- Hon. Linda Chew El Paso
- Hon. Mark Davidson Houston
- Hon. David Evans Dallas
- Hon. Terry Flenniken Brenham
- Hon. Dan Gattis Georgetown
- Prof. Lonny Hoffman Houston
- Tommy Jacks Austin
- Hon. Kelly Moore Brownfield
- Mike Marin Austin
- Paula G. Morales Ft. Worth
- Humberto Ornelas El Paso
- Hon. James N. Parsons III Palestine
- Hon. David Peeples San Antonio
- Hon. Rose Reyna Edinburg
- Hon. Amalia Rodriguez-Mendoza Austin
- Hon. Patrick Rose Dripping Springs
- Hon. William D. Smith Stinnett
- Jack Strickland Fort Worth
- Trey Trainor Austin
- Bill Turner Bryan
- Hon. Alan Waldrop Austin
- Hon. Jeff Wentworth San Antonio
- James Wilson Georgetown
- Hon. Bonnie Wolbruek Georgetown
- Judge Ben Woodward San Angelo
The Task Force is chaired by Judge David Peeples. Professor Hoffman is designated Reporter for the Task Force, and Justice Paul Green is the Court's liaison.
The Task Force is charged with reviewing Texas' rules for summoning jurors, particularly Texas Government Code sections 62.001-.501 and Texas Rules of Civil Procedure 216-36. The Task Force should make recommendations to harmonize the various rules, to ensure that jurors are summoned randomly from a fair cross section of the community, and to eliminate any opportunity for local manipulation which might undermine the integrity and randomness of the process. In doing so, the Task Force should consider the past work and recommendations of any other judicial and legislative committees that have studied issues relating to jury assembly, the aspirations enumerated in Principle 10 of the American Bar Association's Principles for Juries & Jury Trials, published in August 2005, as well as:
- the reliability of the voter registration and drivers license lists that are used for summoning jurors and whether the existing procedures for merging those lists should be revised and strengthened;
- the need for uniform jury plans or a statewide approval process and depository of local jury plans;
- the designation and training of officials who shuffle and randomize juror lists and summon jurors;
- procedures for enforcing summonses that are disregarded;
- the process and recording of juror excuses, exemptions, and postponements;
- the process for randomly selecting and disbursing individuals from the jury room to jury panels in the courtroom; and
- any other issues related to jury assembly and administration.
In considering these issues, the Task Force should also consider the extent to which its recommendations should apply uniformly to both civil and criminal cases. The Task Force should submit its report to the Court no later than December 1, 2006.
In Chambers, this 11th day of July, 2006.
ORIGINAL SIGNED BY:
- Wallace B. Jefferson, Chief Justice
- Nathan L. Hecht, Justice
- Harriet O'Neill, Justice
- J. Dale Wainwright, Justice
- Scott Brister, Justice
- David M. Medina, Justice
- Paul W. Green, Justice
- Phil Johnson, Justice
- Don R. Willett, Justice
