UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF KENTUCKY
In Re: PLAN FOR THE QUALIFICATION AND RANDOM GENERAL ORDER
SELECTION OF GRAND AND PETIT JURORS N2. 2-
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On September 8, 2020, the United States District Court for the Western District of
Kentucky submitted the attached Plan for the Qualification and Random Selection of Grand
and Petit Jurors (“the Plan”) to the Judicial Council of the Sixth Circuit for approval. The Plan
was approved by the Judicial Council, and the Certificate of Approval signed by Chief Circuit
Judge R. Guy Cole, Jr., on January 4, 2021.
NOW THEREFORE IT IS ORDERED that the Plan is hereby adopted by the Court.
Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1863(a), copies of the Plan have been forwarded to the Attorney
General of the United States, the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, and the
Judicial Council of the Sixth Circuit.
This General Order supersedes General Order 2013-02.
DATED: January 4, 2021
ENTERED
JAMES J. VILT JR., CLERK
1/4/2021
U.S. DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF KENTUCKY
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Section One: General Policy and Procedural Matters
Section 1.01. Adoption and Implementation .................................................................................2
Section 1.02. Declaration of Policy ...............................................................................................2
Section 1.03. Discrimination Prohibited........................................................................................2
Section 1.04. Supervision of the Juror Management Process........................................................2
Section 1.05. Delegation of the Clerk’s Management Responsibilities ........................................3
Section 1.06. Use of Non-Court Personnel....................................................................................3
Section Two: Establishment of Jury Divisions and Master Jury Wheels
Section 2.01. Jury Divisions ..........................................................................................................4
Section 2.02. Master Jury Wheels .................................................................................................5
Section 2.03. Source Lists for Random Selection of Grand and Petit Jurors ................................5
Section 2.04. Method and Manner of Random Selection ..............................................................5
Section 2.05. Filling the Master Jury Wheels................................................................................6
Section 2.06. Emptying and Refilling the Master Jury Wheels.....................................................7
Section 2.07. Addition of Names to the Master Jury Wheels........................................................7
Section 2.08. Drawing of Names from the Master Jury Wheels ...................................................7
Section 2.09. Mailing of Juror Qualification Questionnaires ........................................................8
Section Three: Qualifying Grand and Petit Jurors
Section 3.01. Determination of Qualification for Jury Service .....................................................8
Section 3.02. Qualifications for Jury Service ................................................................................8
Section 3.03. Persons Exempt from Jury Service..........................................................................9
Section 3.04. Persons Who Shall Be Excused from Jury Service Upon Request to the Court .....9
Section 3.05. Persons Who May Be Excused from Jury Service Upon Approval of Court........10
Section 3.06. Deferral of Service Upon Individual Requests ......................................................10
Section Four: Qualified Juror Wheel Establishment and Summoning Procedures
Section 4.01. Qualified Juror Wheels ..........................................................................................11
Section 4.02. Drawing and Summoning of Jury Pools................................................................11
Section Five: Disclosure of Jury Records
Section 5.01. Disclosure of Jury Records Generally ...................................................................12
Section 5.02. Disclosure of Petit Jury Panel Information............................................................13
Section 5.03. Disclosure of Grand Juror Information..................................................................13
Appendix: Alternate Random Selection Procedures ...................................................................14
Certificate of Approval ..................................................................................................................16
Certificate of Filing........................................................................................................................16
SECTION ONE
GENERAL POLICY AND PROCEDURAL MATTERS
____________________________________________________________________________________________
SECTION 1.01 — ADOPTION AND IMPLEMENTATION
In accordance with 28 U.S.C.§ 1863, the Court adopts the following amended Plan for
the Qualification and Random Selection of Grand and Petit Jurors (the “Plan”).
This Plan, as amended, shall become effective on the date approved by proper order of a
reviewing panel of the Judicial Council for the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth
Circuit, provided, however, that nothing in the amended Plan shall affect the composition of the
existing master or qualified jury wheels nor affect the composition or preclude the service of any
jury impaneled on or before the scheduled refilling of such wheels after the next general election
as hereinbefore provided in this Plan.
SECTION 1.02 — DECLARATION OF POLICY
It is the policy of the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky
that all litigants within the district, who are entitled to trial by jury, have the right to grand and
petit juries selected at random from a fair cross section of the community where the court
convenes. Further, all citizens have the opportunity to be considered for jury service and have
an obligation to serve when summoned.
SECTION 1.03 — DISCRIMINATION PROHIBITED
No citizen will be excluded from service as a grand or petit juror on account of race,
color, religion, sex, national origin, or economic status.
SECTION 1.04– SUPERVISION OF THE JUROR MANAGEMENT PROCESS
The Clerk shall manage the jury selection process under the supervision and control of
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the Chief Judge. 28 U.S.C. § 1863(b)(1).
SECTION 1.05— DELEGATION OF THE CLERK’S MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITIES
The Clerk may delegate responsibility for the day-to-day operations of the jury selection
process to any authorized deputy clerk or other authorized non-court person or agency. 28
U.S.C. §§ 1863(b)(1) and 1869(a).
SECTION 1.06 — USE OF NON-COURT PERSONNEL
The Court finds that it may be necessary or appropriate for the Clerk to utilize the
services of non-court personnel to assist in the juror management process. For purposes of this
Plan, the phrase “non-court personnel” may include, but is not limited to:
-- County or Commonwealth of Kentucky officials and their employees or agents,
who are responsible for custody and maintenance of the source lists identified in
Section 2.03 of this Plan.
-- Owners, employees, operators and/or agents of computer or data processing
centers, bar-coding facilities, mail handling centers, and optical scanning
facilities.
-- Other administrative or clerical persons whose services may be necessary to
select, process, and/or mail the various documents and records involved in the
juror management process.
In the event that the Clerk elects to utilize the services of non-court personnel, she shall
issue written instructions to the individual(s) describing the operations or activities to be
conducted and shall require them to execute an affidavit, under penalty of perjury, certifying
compliance with the written instructions.
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SECTION TWO
ESTABLISHMENT OF JURY DIVISIONS
AND MASTER JURY WHEELS
SECTION 2.01 — JURY DIVISIONS
Jury divisions shall bear the name of the places of holding court in the district, and the
names and counties assigned to each division. In accordance with 28 U.S.C. § 1863(a) and
unless otherwise directed by the court, the Plan shall apply to the following jury divisions
defined below:
JURY DIVISION COUNTIES
Louisville Breckinridge, Bullitt, Hardin,
Jefferson, Larue, Marion, Meade,
Nelson, Oldham, Spencer, and
Washington
Bowling Green Adair, Allen, Barren, Butler, Casey,
Clinton, Cumberland, Edmonson,
Green, Hart, Logan, Metcalfe, Monroe,
Russell, Simpson, Taylor, Todd, and
Warren
Owensboro Daviess, Grayson, Hancock,
Henderson, Hopkins, McLean,
Muhlenberg, Ohio, Union, and
Webster
Paducah Ballard, Caldwell, Calloway, Carlisle,
Christian, Crittenden, Fulton, Graves,
Hickman, Livingston, Lyon,
McCracken, Marshall, and Trigg
See Joint Ky. Loc. Civ. Prac. LR. 3.1(b).
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SECTION 2.02 — MASTER JURY WHEELS
The Clerk shall establish and maintain a master jury wheel for each jury division
established pursuant to Section 2.01 of this Plan. 28 U.S.C. §1863(b)(4).
SECTION 2.03 — SOURCE LISTS FOR RANDOM SELECTION OF GRAND AND PETIT JURORS
The Court finds that the sources from which the names of grand and petit jurors shall be
selected at random shall be:
(a) The Kentucky Secretary of State’s voter registration lists;
(b) The State of Kentucky Department of Motor Vehicles’ licensed drivers list; and
(c) The State of Kentucky I.D. list.
It is the opinion of the Court that the names on these source lists from this District, when
combined, represent a fair cross-section of the community in the Western District of Kentucky.
Therefore, the names to be placed into a master jury wheel shall be selected at random from the
official voter registration lists provided by the Secretary of State for each county and the official
licensed drivers list and identification card list provided by the State of Kentucky Department of
Motor Vehicles for each county. 28 U.S.C. § 1863(b)(2).
SECTION 2.04 — METHOD AND MANNER OF RANDOM SELECTION
In accordance with 28 U.S.C. § 1863(b)(3), unless otherwise approved by the Court, the
Clerk may elect to use either of two random selection procedures in order to ensure both
proportional representation and random selection of names from the various county source lists
identified in Section 2.03 of this Plan:
(a) Computerized Random Selection Programs:
At the Clerk’s option, and after consultation with the Court, the selection of
names from complete source list databases in electronic media for the master jury
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wheel may be accomplished by a purely randomized process through routines
approved by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
Similarly, at the option of the Clerk and after consultation with the Court, a
properly programmed electronic data processing system for pure randomized
selection may be used to select names from the master wheel for the purpose of
determining qualification for jury service, and from the qualified wheel for
summoning persons to serve as grand or petit jurors. Such random selections of
names from the source list for inclusion in the master wheel by data computer
personnel must ensure that each county within the jury division is substantially
proportionally represented in the master jury wheel in accordance with 28 U.S. C.
§ 1863(b)(3). The selections of names from the source list, the master wheel, and
the qualified wheel must also ensure that the mathematical odds of any single
name being picked are substantially equal.
(b) Alternate Random Selection Procedures: In the event that the Clerk elects not
to use a computerized random selection program to select names from one or
more of the county source lists, then the Clerk shall employ the “interval and
starting number” selection process set forth in Appendix (1) of this Plan.
SECTION 2.05 — FILLING THE MASTER JURY WHEELS
The Clerk shall initially fill the divisional master jury wheels with at least the minimum
number of names indicated below. The number of names placed in the master jury wheels shall
be a minimum of 0.5 percent of the total number of names on the source list. The number of
names to be placed in the divisional master jury wheels shall be apportioned among the counties
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in each of the divisions based upon the approximate ratio that the approximate number of
registered voters in each of said counties bears to the approximate total of registered voters in the
entire jury division. 28 U.S.C. § 1863(b)(4).
The number of names selected initially for the master jury wheel, to be apportioned
among the counties are:
Louisville Division Master Jury Wheel 24,000 names
Bowling Green Division Master Jury Wheel 9,000 names
Owensboro Division Master Jury Wheel 9,000 names
Paducah Division Master Jury Wheel 18,000 names
SECTION 2.06 — EMPTYING AND REFILLING THE MASTER JURY WHEELS
Unless otherwise ordered by the Court, the Clerk is directed to empty and refill the
divisional master jury wheels between January 1 and May 1 in years subsequent to presidential
elections. 28 U.S.C. § 1863 (b)(4). Upon application to the Chief Judge, the Court may grant
additional time to empty and refill the divisional jury wheels as needed.
SECTION 2.07 — ADDITION OF NAMES TO THE MASTER JURY WHEELS
It may be necessary to place additional names into one or more of the master jury wheels.
Should such a need arise, either the Chief Judge or the divisional supervising judge will direct
the Clerk to obtain additional names from the source lists identified in Section 2.03 of this Plan.
28 U.S.C. § 1863(b)(4).
SECTION 2.08— DRAWING OF NAMES FROM THE MASTER JURY WHEELS
Each year, the Clerk or her designee shall draw at random from the master jury wheels
the names of as many persons as may be required for jury service. The Clerk or her designee
shall post a general notice for public review in the Clerk’s Office and on the Court’s website
explaining the process by which names are drawn. 28 U.S.C. § 1864(a).
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SECTION 2.09 — DELIVERY OF JUROR QUALIFICATION QUESTIONNAIRES
The Clerk or her designee shall deliver a juror qualification questionnaire to every person
whose name is drawn from a master jury wheel, with instructions to complete and return the
questionnaire by mail or through the court internet web site within ten days. 28 U.S.C. §
1864(a).
SECTION THREE
QUALIFYING GRAND AND PETIT JURORS
SECTION 3.01 — DETERMINATION OF QUALIFICATION FOR JURY SERVICE
The Chief Judge of the court, or any other district judge or magistrate judge of the
district, or the Clerk under supervision of the Court, is authorized to determine whether a person
is qualified for, or exempt, or to be excused from jury service. Such determination is to be made
on the basis of information provided on the juror qualification form as well as other competent
evidence. 28 U.S.C. § 1865(a).
SECTION 3.02 — QUALIFICATIONS FOR JURY SERVICE
Every person is qualified for jury service unless that person:
(a) Is not a citizen of the United States eighteen years old, who has resided for a
period of one year within the judicial district;
(b) Is unable to read, write, and understand the English language with a degree of
proficiency sufficient to satisfactorily fill out the juror qualification questionnaire;
(c) Is unable to speak the English language;
(d) Is incapable, by reason of mental or physical infirmity, to render satisfactory jury
service; or
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(e) Has a charge pending against him or her for the commission of, or has been
convicted in a State or Federal Court of record of, a crime punishable by
imprisonment for more than one year, and his or her civil rights have not been
restored. 28 U.S.C. § 1865(b).
Notice of persons who identify themselves as non-citizens through the juror qualification
process will be provided to appropriate election officials for verifying voter registration
eligibility.
SECTION 3.03 — PERSONS EXEMPT FROM JURY SERVICE
The following persons are barred from jury service in this Court on the grounds that they
are exempt:
(a) Members in active service of the Armed Forces of the United States;
(b) Members of any governmental police or regular fire department (not including
volunteer or non-governmental departments); and
(c) Public officers of the United States, state, or local government who are elected to
public office or directly appointed by one elected to office, who are actively
engaged in the performance of official duties. 28 U.S.C. § 1863(b)(6).
SECTION 3.04 — PERSONS WHO SHALL BE EXCUSED FROM JURY SERVICE UPON REQUEST TO
THE COURT
In accordance with 28 U.S.C. § 1863(b)(5)(A), the Court finds that jury service by
members of the occupational classes or groups of persons set out below would entail undue
hardship or extreme inconvenience to the members thereof, and that excuse of members thereof
would not be inconsistent with Sections 1861 and 1862 of Title 28, United States Code.
Accordingly, members of the following classes or groups shall, upon individual request
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therefore, be excused from jury service at the qualification stage:
(a) All persons over seventy (70) years of age, and
(b) volunteer safety personnel. 28 U.S.C. § 1863(b)(5)(B).
In addition to these classes, the Court finds that the following classes of persons shall,
upon individual request therefore, be excused from jury service at the summons stage:
(a) A person who has served as a grand or petit juror within the past two
years, and
(b) All full-time students.
SECTION 3.05 — PERSONS WHO MAY BE EXCUSED FROM JURY SERVICE UPON APPROVAL OF
THE COURT
The following persons may, upon individual request therefore, be excused from jury
service at the summons stage, upon the Court’s approval:
(a) A person having active care and custody of a person whose health and/or
safety would be jeopardized if required to be absent for jury service; and
(b) A person whose services are so essential to the operation of a business,
commercial or agricultural enterprise that it must close or cease to
function if they are required to perform jury duty.
SECTION 3.06 — DEFERRAL OF SERVICE UPON INDIVIDUAL REQUESTS
The Court may temporarily excuse any qualified juror from jury service upon application
showing undue hardship or extreme inconvenience. Unless otherwise directed by the Court,
those individuals temporarily excused from jury service will have their names reinserted into the
qualified jury wheel, or deferred until another date for service. 28 U.S.C. § 1866(c)(1).
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SECTION FOUR
QUALIFIED JUROR WHEEL ESTABLISHMENT AND SUMMONING PROCEDURES
SECTION 4.01 — QUALIFIED JUROR WHEELS
The Clerk or her designee shall establish and maintain a qualified jury wheel. Qualified
juror wheels for the respective jury divisions may be maintained, at the discretion of the Clerk, in
the Louisville office or in the respective jury divisional offices. The Clerk or her designee, after
review of the qualification forms, shall place in the qualified jury wheel for each of the jury
divisions the names of persons determined to be qualified for jury service. 28 U.S.C. § 1866(a).
The qualified jury wheels shall continue to be used during the master wheel emptying and
refilling process. Upon the completion of the master wheel process the qualified wheels will be
emptied and refilled with the names of qualified persons from the newly refilled master wheel.
SECTION 4.02 — DRAWING AND SUMMONING OF JURY POOLS
From time to time, the Clerk or her designee at any particular jury divisional office, shall
draw at random from the respective jury division’s qualified jury wheel such number of names of
persons as directed by the Court for service as grand or petit jurors for that respective jury
division. The Clerk or her designee shall post a general notice for public review in the clerk’s
office and on the Court’s website explaining the process by which names are drawn. 28 U.S.C.
§ 1866(a).
The Clerk shall issue a jury summons for each person so drawn and issue such summons
by first class mail, unless the Court directs otherwise. 28 U.S.C. § 1866(b).
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SECTION FIVE
DISCLOSURE OF JURY RECORDS
SECTION 5.01 — DISCLOSURE OF JURY RECORDS GENERALLY
(a) Release of Jury Plan Information: Upon request, the Clerk is authorized to
provide a copy of this Plan to any person requesting information about the juror
qualification process.
(b) Release of Master Jury Wheel Information: Any list prepared pursuant to 28
U.S.C. § 1864(a) shall not be disclosed to any person except upon written order of
the District Court, except pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1867.
(c) Release of Juror Management Records: In accordance with 28 U.S.C. §
1867(f), the contents of records and papers used in connection with the juror
qualification and selection process shall not be disclosed, except upon written
order of the District Court, unless otherwise provided for in Sections 5.02 and
5.03(a) of this Plan. Parties desiring to prepare or present a motion pursuant to
28 U.S.C. § 1867 shall make written application for disclosure to the District
Court and tender an appropriate order therewith.
(d) Retention of Juror Management Records: In accordance with 28 U.S.C. §
1868, the Clerk shall keep all records and papers relating to the juror management
process for four years following the emptying and refilling of the master jury
wheels, or for such longer period of time as the Court may require. Upon written
request to the Chief Judge, the Court may direct that the Clerk make selected juror
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management records available for public inspection for the purpose of
determining the validity of the selection of any jury.
SECTION 5.02 — DISCLOSURE OF PETIT JURY PANEL INFORMATION
In accordance with 28 U.S.C. § 1863(b)(7), upon request to the Clerk or her designee, the
names of persons assigned to individual petit jury panels may be disclosed to the parties seven
days prior to the trial date unless otherwise ordered by the Court. It shall be left to the
discretion of the Judge to whom the case is assigned whether the parties may also be provided
with juror qualification questionnaires or any other juror information, in addition to juror names.
With regard to all non-parties, including the public and the media, disclosure of the
names of persons assigned to individual petit jury panels may be made only upon order of the
Court. Notwithstanding this general policy, the District Court may order the Clerk to keep these
names confidential in any case where the interests of justice so require.
SECTION 5.03 — DISCLOSURE OF GRAND JUROR INFORMATION
In accordance with 28 U.S. C. § 1863(b)(7), the names and information relating to any
summoned or serving grand juror or grand jury panel shall be confidential and not disclosed to
any litigant or member of the public except upon written order of the District Court.
Furthermore, the impanelment of every regular special grand jury shall not be conducted in open
court or within public view. Applications for disclosure of grand juror information must be
made by motion to the Chief Judge and must show exceptional and compelling circumstances
why disclosure should be allowed.
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APPENDIX (1) — ALTERNATE RANDOM SELECTION PROCEDURES
Unless otherwise directed by the Court, in the event that the Clerk elects not to use a form
of computerized random selection, the following “starting number and interval” selection process
should be employed:
STEP (1) Identify the local, state, or federal official who has responsibility for, and
custody of, the source list for each county in a particular jury division.
STEP (2) Communicate with the custodian to determine the total number of names
contained on the source lists of the most recent general election; or in the
event that a particular county intends to purge its source list information
following a general election, then on a date to be specified by the Clerk.
STEP (3) After determining the total number of names for each county, segregate
the counties into the jury divisions defined in Section 2.01 of this Plan.
STEP (4) Calculate the total number of names for all of the counties within a
particular jury division.
STEP (5) Divide the total number of names contained on all of the source lists in a
particular jury division by the total number of names required to be placed
in that jury division’s master jury wheel in accordance with Section 2.06
of this Plan. The numerical value produced by this calculation shall be
referred to as the interval number, which represents the interval between
selected names on the county source lists, e.g.:
Assume [1] that there are 660,000 names on the combined
source lists for the counties comprising a particular jury
division; and [2] that the total number of names to be
placed into that division’s master jury wheel is 6,000.
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Given these assumptions, the clerk would divide 660,000
by 6,000. The result of this calculation would produce an
interval number of 110.
STEP (6) After calculating the interval number for each jury division, the Clerk
should then publicly draw at random for each jury division a starting
number, to ensure that every name in each of the intervals has an equal
chance of being chosen. This starting number shall be selected from a
range of numbers which includes the number one through the interval
number for each jury division. The selected starting number represents
the first name to be selected from each county’s source list.
STEP (7) After calculating the interval and starting numbers, the Clerk shall arrange
to select the first name from each county’s source list which corresponds
to the starting number, and thereafter, shall select every subsequent name
throughout the remainder of the source list which corresponds to the
interval number, e.g.:
Assuming that the starting number for a particular jury
division was 10, and the interval number for that jury
division was 110, the clerk would arrange that the tenth
name from each county’s source list be selected, and
thereafter every 110th name throughout the remainder of
the source lists for each county be selected, e.g. 10, 120,
230,340, etc.
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CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL
This is to certify that, in accordance with 28 U.S.C. § l 863(a), the foregoing Amended Plan
for the Qualification and Random Selection of Grand and Petit Jurors for the Western District of
Kentucky has been duly received and approved as complying with the law by a reviewing panel
consisting of the members of the Judicial Council for the Sixth Circuit of the United States and the
Chief Judge of the District to which the plan is applicable.
This 4th day of January 2021.
-� (£_,-
R. Guy Cole, r.
Chief Judge
United States Court of Appeals
for the Sixth Circuit
CERTIFICATE OF FILING
This is to certify that, in accordance with 28 U.S.C. § 1863(a), a true copy of the foregoing
Amended Plan for the Qualification and Random Selection of Grand and Petit Jurors for the
Western District of Kentucky was filed with the Administrative Office of the United States Courts,
Washington, D.C., and the Attorney General for the United States.
This 4th day of January 2021.
Gregory N. Stivers
Chief Judge
United States District Court for the
Western District of Kentucky
