Texas Attorney General Opinion: JC-405 Page: 2 of 8
This text is part of the collection entitled: Texas Attorney General Opinions and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
The Honorable E. Bruce Curry - Page 2
excusing jurors for reasons stemming from personal relationship with corporate representative of
party resulted in fundamentally unfair trial).
Generally, the organization of petit juries in the district court is governed by chapter 62 of
the Government Code. This is true in both civil and criminal cases, since article 33.09 of the Code
of Criminal Procedure provides that "Jury panels, including special venires, for the trial of criminal
cases shall be selected and summoned (with return on summons) in the same manner as the selection
of panels for the trial of civil cases except as otherwise provided in this Code." TEX. CODE CRIM.
PROC. ANN. art. 33.09 (Vernon 1989). Depending on the county, an appropriate number of names
to meet jury requirements will be drawn either from the jury wheel by the clerk and the sheriff or
constable "in the presence and under the direction of the district judge," TEX. Gov'T CODE ANN.
62.004(a) (Vernon 1998), or in counties which use a computer pursuant to section 62.011 of the
Government Code "by random selection computer programming." OFFICE OF COURT
ADMINISTRATION, DISTRICT CLERK PROCEDURE MANUAL II-5 (1998). A plan for computerized jury
selection pursuant to section 62.011 must "designate the district clerk as the officer in charge of the
selection process and define his duties." TEX. GOV'T CODE ANN. 62.011 (b)(4) (Vernon 1998); see
Tex. Att'y Gen. Op. No. DM-34 (1991). Section 62.012 of the Government Code provides:
(a) When a justice of the peace or a county or district judge
requires a jury for a particular week, the judge, within a reasonable
time before the prospective jurors are summoned, shall notify the
county clerk, for a county court jury, or the district clerk, for ajustice
or district court jury, to open the next consecutively numbered
envelope containing ajury list that is in the clerk's possession and has
not been opened. The judge shall also notify the clerk of the date that
the prospective jurors are to be summoned to appear forjury service.
(b) On receiving the notice from the judge, the clerk shall
immediately write on the jury list the date that the prospective jurors
are to be summoned to appear and shall deliver the jury list to:
(1) the sheriff, for a county or district court jury; or
(2) the sheriff or constable, for a justice court jury.
TEX. Gov'T CODE ANN. 62.012 (Vernon 1998).
While the point at which the jury list is opened and delivered to the sheriff is the first point
at which it would be possible for the clerk to permit access to this information to any person, section
62.012 does not expressly authorize or require such access at that time. Rule 224 of the Texas Rules
of Civil Procedure provides that "when the parties have announced ready for trial," the clerk shall(JC -0405)
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This text can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Text.
Texas. Attorney-General's Office. Texas Attorney General Opinion: JC-405, text, August 28, 2001; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth274714/m1/2/: accessed April 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.