§ 15-12-40 - Compilation, maintenance, and revision of jury list
O.C.G.A. 15-12-40 (2010)
15-12-40. Compilation, maintenance, and revision of jury list
(a) Nonmechanical procedure.
(1) At least biennially, unless otherwise directed by the chief judge of the superior court, the board of jury commissioners shall compile, maintain, and revise a trial jury list of upright and intelligent citizens of the county to serve as trial jurors and a grand jury list of the most experienced, intelligent, and upright citizens of the county to serve as grand jurors. In composing the trial jury list, the board of jury commissioners shall select a fairly representative cross section of the intelligent and upright citizens of the county. In composing the grand jury list, the board of jury commissioners shall select a fairly representative cross section of the most experienced, intelligent, and upright citizens of the county. In carrying out revisions of the trial jury list and grand jury list on or after July 1, 2002, the board of jury commissioners shall make use of all of the following:
(A) A list of all residents of the county who are the holders of drivers' licenses or personal identification cards issued by the Department of Driver Services pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 5 of Title 40; and the Department of Driver Services shall periodically make such a list available to the board of jury commissioners of each county;
(B) The registered voters list in the county; and
(C) Any other list of persons resident in the county as may be deemed appropriate by the board of jury commissioners.
The Department of Driver Services shall provide a list, which includes the name, address, date of birth, gender, driver's license or personal identification card number issued pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 5 of Title 40, and, whenever racial and ethnic information is collected by the Department of Driver Services for purposes of voter registration pursuant to Code Section 21-2-221, racial and ethnic information, to the board of jury commissioners of each county. No jury list compiled prior to July 1, 2002, shall be rendered invalid by the use of or a failure to make use of the sources specified in this Code section; but each revision of the jury list on or after that date shall make use of all such sources to the extent actually available to the board of jury commissioners.
(2) The grand jury list shall not exceed two-fifths of the number of citizens on the county's most recent trial jury list.
(3) Once filed, the lists so created shall constitute the body of trial and grand jurors for the county, respectively. Except as otherwise provided in this article, no new names shall be added to either list until those names originally selected have been completely exhausted or until a revised list has been properly created.
(b) Mechanical or electronic procedure.
(1) In any county using a plan for the selection of persons to serve as jurors by mechanical or electronic means in conformance with paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (b) of Code Section 15-12-42, the board of jury commissioners shall compile and maintain a trial jury list and a grand jury list in conformance with paragraph (1) of subsection (a) of this Code section.
(2) Once the trial or grand jury lists, or both, are established, the board of jury commissioners may revise such lists from time to time by adding new names to the lists, correcting names and other data on the lists, and deleting names from the lists by reason of death or other legal cause.
(3) The trial jury box for the county shall be taken from the trial jury list established by the board of jury commissioners, and the grand jury box for the county shall be taken from the grand jury list established by the board of jury commissioners. The information contained in the trial and grand jury boxes shall be stored in a security data processing storage bank from which all trial or grand juries in the county shall be selected as provided in the plan adopted pursuant to Code Section 15-12-42.
(4) The number of citizens in the grand jury box shall be established by the board of jury commissioners but shall contain, as a minimum, a number equal to four times the number of grand jurors required to be drawn in the county annually, but not to exceed 5,000 grand jurors.
(5) At each selection of trial or grand jurors, the computer shall be programmed to scan the entire appropriate jury box under the formula and plan adopted by the court pursuant to Code Section 15-12-42.
(6) In any county utilizing a plan for the selection of persons for the trial and grand jury boxes by mechanical or electronic means in conformance with paragraph (4) of subsection (b) of Code Section 15-12-42, the trial or grand jury box for the county may be compiled from the trial or grand jury list of the county by mechanical or electronic means as provided for in the plan.
(c) Other disposition or transfer. In any county in which more than 70 percent of the population of the county according to the United States decennial census of 1980 or any future such census resides on property of the United States government which is exempt from taxation by this state, the population of the county for the purpose of this Code section shall be deemed to be the total population of the county minus the population of the county which resides on property of the United States government other than persons who reside on property of the United States government within such county who are registered voters according to the official registered voters list of the county as most recently revised by the county board of registrars or other county election officials and any persons who reside on property of the United States government within such county who are not registered voters and who have requested in writing to the board of jury commissioners that their names be included on the list from which citizens are selected to serve as jurors and grand jurors by the board of jury commissioners.
(d) Assistance of the Administrative Office of the Courts.
(1) The Administrative Office of the Courts may assist the clerk of the superior court or the jury clerk, whichever is applicable, by providing a list of county citizens who the Administrative Office of the Courts certifies are prima facie eligible persons for consideration as jurors on the traverse and grand jury pools.
(2) The Department of Driver Services shall provide the Administrative Office of the Courts the list required by subparagraph (a)(1)(A) of this Code section and the information set forth in the undesignated text of paragraph (1) of subsection (a) of this Code section.
(3) The Secretary of State shall provide the Administrative Office of the Courts the list of registered voters and list of convicted felons.