Case Information

*1 OFFICE OF l-NE ATTORNEYGENERAL OF TEXAS AUSTIN

Honorable Milton Order Mel1

Distriat Attorney

7th Judioiab M&riot

Tyle c, Texas

Dear Slrr

Your requeet n reodred end oare- for

fully oonsider@d by this d eta iron your re- quest aa fOl.lOWP~

8 +ors in the u till observe a the'word 'juror8 itioallr state that ram $rom the Jury 0 8 statute, Arfiole 333 of al Proaedure, providing for eation of grand jarore. The uld grand ~ju@orr aa well aa e ssleoted frm the jury wheel In Counties where the jury wheel IS in use, or should the Court eel&t the petit Jury from the jury wheel and oriier a ifury Cornrniesiou to piok the Grand Jury'?"

Artiole 2094, Vernm*e Annotated Texas Civil Stat- ute8, is applioable to Smith County, Texas, and reads as foll~rt

Honorable Milton Greer Mell, Page 2

*Between the first and flfteenfh days of August of each year, In each oounty hsvlng a population of at least fifty-eight thousand or having therein a city containing e population of crt least twenty thousand, es shown by the preoedlng Federal Ceneue, the Tax Colleotor or one of hie deputies, together with the Tax Assessor or one :.f this deputlee, together with the Sherlfr or one of his deputies, end the Coun6y Clerk or one of his deputies, and the Dlstrlot Clerk or one of hla deputlee, ahall meet et the court house of their county and select from the list of qualified jurors of such oounty es shown by the tax lists In the Tax Ameaeor*a ofrlce for the ourrent year, the jurors for servlae in the District end County Courts of suah uounty for the ensuing year In the menner hereinafter provided.*

Artlole 2095, V. A. T. C. S., dlreote the method or plaolng cards or the neme8 and eddreaeer of prospeotlve Jurors in the jury wheel, eta.

Article 2096, v. A. T. C. S., reads a8 hollows: Wet leee than ten deyr prior to the first day of e term of court, the dlstrlot olerk or one of his deputlee, end the sheriff, or one of hle deputlee, In the presenoe and under the direction of the dletrlot judge, It the juror6 are to be drawn for the district oourt, or the clerk of the county court, or one 02 his deputies, end the eherlff, or one of hla deputies, in the presence and under the dfrea- tion of the county judge, if the jurors are to be drawn for the county oourt, shall draw from the wheel containing the names of jurorfi.

aft+-r the same has been well turned 80 that the cards therein are thoroughly mixed, one by one the namee OS thirty-elx jurors, or a greater or less number where euah judge hae 80 directed, for each week of the term Or the diatriot or county court@ for wbioh a jury my be required, end shall reaord suoh nemea es they ere drawn upon es many separate *3 Honorable Milton Greer Well, Page 3

sheets of paper as there are weeks for such term or terma for which jurors will be re- quired. At euch drawing& no pereon other than thoee above nemed shell be permltted to be present. The officers attending such drawing shall not divulge the name of any person that may be drewu ae a juror to any person.'

We oall your partiauler attention to Article 2097, Vernon'8 Annotated Texas Civil Stetutes, which clearly denotes thet the j-m wheel system is applioable to the eeleotlon Qd petit jurors,' not grand jurors. Said article reed6 ao follows:

"The aeverel lists of neme8 w drawn, shall be certified under the hand of the olerk or the deputy doing the drawing, end the dls- trlot or oounty judge in wboee lzresenoe sefd names were drawn from the wheel, to be the list dram by said olerk for the said aeveral weeks, end ahall be sealed up In separate envelopes lndoreed, 'List 0s D&it jurors for the week of the term of the uo*tF(rilling in the

00GT0r blanka properled the Clark doing the drawing shall write his name across the seals of the envelopes and shell then inunedletely deliver the same to the judge in wbse pro-~ eence euch names were drawn, or to hie IIUO- cesctor In offlae in case euoh judge dies before such delivery can bemwde to him.* (Undersoorlng our01

We quote irom 26 Texas Jurisprudence, Jury~ Sec- ;;E~;; Deflnltlone and Terminology, pagea 566 and 5b7, aa

:

*Whwre the word *jury' 16 used alone it usuelly algnlrles 0 petit jury, and it 1s 80 used throughout this article. Generally speek- Ine, *jury* meens the twelve or sir: meu or- ganized for the trial oi e partiou;ler ceee, but the term is also used more broadly in the eense of"panel*. . . . .

Honorable Mlltm Greer Hell, Page 4

e'Panel* la another word that is used in various aense8. According to lte context, it may mean the jurors for the term or for the week, or the names drawn from the box end lleted.

The word haa also been used to deelgnete the men lmpaneled to try the cause and even an individual juror. Similarly, the terms *lm- penelment' end 'lmpaneled' are used to denote completion of the organization of a panel for the week and a jury for the dause.

*'Juror' la aleo a word of comprehensive meaning, slgnlfylng either one eligible to serve, or one selected to serve, or one on the panel, or one actually eerving. Since lt tends to olarlty that the word used should indicate .&ether proepective or aotual service is meant, tjurorl might be used in this artl- cle in the proepeotlve sense and *juryman -ployed to denote one who actually sits in the cese.W

Chapter 1, Title 7, Vernon's Annotated Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, provldee a epeciflo end detailed method for the organization of the Grand Juti. Article 333, V. A. T. 0. 0. P., provides for the appointment of three jury oommlstilonere, by the District Judge at each term of the Dletriot Court, and presorlbea certain quali- rlcatlone whloh eaoh jury commlealoner must posseam.

Article 334, v. A. T. 0. C. P., provides for thenrtifloa- flon of suoh oommGslonera of sueh appointment. Article 335, V. A. T. C. 0. P., presorlbea the form of oath to be taken by euoh oommlseloners. Article 336, V, A. T. 0. C. P., provides for the lnstruatlon by the Judge of said commle- eloners es to their dutlea, eto. Article 337, V? A. T.

c. c. P., provides that the jury commissionore shall be kept free from intrusion during their seasion, etc. Arti- cle 338, V. A. T. C. C. P., provides that the jury oommle- sloners shall select sixteen men from the cltlzens of the different portion6 of the oounty to be eummoned as grand jurors for the next term of the court. We also sail y&r attention to krtloles 340, 341, 342, 344, 345, 348, 349, 352, 353, 354, 355 end 39,7, Vernrn's Annotated Texas Code of Criminal lrocedure, which deal with the organization of the grand jury.

Honorable Mllton Qreer Mell, Page 5 that It Is the opinion

You are respeotfully adtlaed or this department: I

1. That Articles 209k, 2095, 2096, et seq., Vernon's Annotated Texas Civil Statutes, known as the "Jurg Wheel Lawa deal with the selection of petit jurors In oounty end dlstrlot courts and not with the seleotion of grand Jurors.

2. That petit jurors of Smith Oounty, Texas, In oounty and district oourts should be seleoted under the *h.ry Wheel Law".

3. That grand jurors of Smith County, Texas, should be eeleoted In the manner outlined by the pertinent statutes set out In Ohnpter 1, Title 7% Vernon's Annotated Texeo Oode of Criminal Prooedure.

Trusting that this satisfaotorily answers your inquiry, we are

Very truly your6 ATTORNEYGYXEF&LOFTEXAS Wm. J. Panning Assistanti UCFtCO

ATTONiEY CKEEERAL OF TEXAS