DEC 22 2020
United States District Court
Southern District of Texas
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT ENTERED
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS December 22 2020
David J. Bradley, Clerk of Court
By Deputy Clerk
IN THE MATTER OF REVISED '
ORDER ESTABLISHING A '
PLAN FOR JURY SELECTION ' GENERAL ORDER NO. 2020-30
FOR THE SOUTHERN '
DISTRICT OF TEXAS '
ORDER
It appearing to the Court that the order establishing the method for the selection of grand
and petit jurors in this district adopted July 31, 1968, to comply with the Jury Selection and Service
Act of 1968 (Pub. L. No. 90-274, 28 U.S.C.A. § 1861 et seq.), as amended through July 5, 2013
should be modified;
And it being the policy of the United States, as enunciated by the above-named statute, (a)
that all litigants entitled to trial by jury shall have the right to grand and petit juries selected at
random from a fair cross section of the community in the district or division wherein the Court
convenes; (b) that all citizens shall have the opportunity to be considered for service on grand and
petit juries in the United States District Courts and shall have an obligation to serve when
summoned for that purpose; and (c) that no citizen shall be excluded from service as a grand or
petit juror on account of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, or economic status;
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED:
1. This Plan shall apply and pertain to the entire Southern District of Texas, and to
each of the divisions thereof. This district, as provided by 28 U.S.C.A. § 124, is composed of seven
divisions, each being comprised of the counties as follows:
Brownsville Division – Counties of Cameron and Willacy.
Corpus Christi Division – Counties of Aransas, Bee, Brooks, Duval, Jim Wells,
Kenedy, Kleburg, Live Oak, Nueces and San Patricio.
Galveston Division – Counties of Brazoria, Chambers, Galveston, and Matagorda.
Houston Division – Counties of Austin, Brazos, Colorado, Fayette, Fort Bend,
Grimes, Harris, Madison, Montgomery, San Jacinto, Walker, Waller, and
Wharton.
Laredo Division – Counties of Jim Hogg, La Salle, McMullen, Webb, and Zapata.
McAllen Division – Counties of Hidalgo and Starr.
Victoria Division – Counties of Calhoun, DeWitt, Goliad, Jackson, Lavaca,
Refugio, and Victoria.
2. Management of Jury Selection Process. The Clerk of Court, one or more deputy
clerks or other authorized representative as directed by the Clerk, is authorized to manage the jury
selection process, acting under the supervision and control of the Chief Judge of this Court. In the
event of absence or disability of the Chief Judge, the judge in active service and senior in
commission shall serve. The judges to whom the work of a division of this Court is assigned by
the Chief Judge by general order shall be in charge of the day-to-day operation of the jury selection
process in that division (i.e. such judges shall, as needed, order the addition of names to the wheel,
the drawing of names therefrom, the granting of temporary excuses, etc.).
Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1861, all litigants “have the right to grand and petit jurors selected
at random from a fair cross section of the community.” The Court uses a two-step process to select
jurors. First, a master jury wheel is created by selecting all names from the voter registration lists
and lists of licensed drivers. Then, names are randomly drawn periodically from the master jury
wheel to receive juror qualification questionnaires. Individuals’ answers to these questionnaires
determine whether they are legally qualified to serve. If so, the names of those persons are put on
a second wheel, a qualified jury wheel. As prospective jurors are needed for a specific trial or
grand jury, juror summonses are sent to persons randomly selected from the qualified wheel. All
of these selections are carried out through a properly programmed electronic data processing
system for pure randomized selection. The pure randomized process ensures that the mathematical
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odds of any single name being picked are substantially equal. In the event that the data processing
system described in section 4 is unable to accommodate the size of the voter registration lists and
lists of licensed drivers, a randomized process will be implemented to select a smaller portion of
the source lists as described in section 5.
3. Master Jury Wheel and Source of Names. It is the considered judgment of this
Court that voter registration lists and lists of licensed drivers from each county do and will furnish
a fair cross section of the community of this district, and of each division thereof, and such lists
shall be the exclusive source of names of prospective petit and grand jurors to be chosen as
hereinafter provided. The voter registration lists are those from all counties within the relevant
division compiled and maintained by the County Tax Assessor Collector of each county showing
the names of those persons registered to vote in the last general election as supplemented by the
inclusion of subsequent registrants to the latest practicable date. While such lists may represent a
fair cross-section of the community in this district, in order to foster the statutory policy of 28
U.S.C. §§ 1861 and 1862, the Court considers it prudent to supplement such lists in accordance
with 28 U.S.C. § l862(b)(2), with lists of licensed drivers from all counties within each division
using an automated system that will eliminate, as reasonably as possible, any name duplications,
persons under the age of 18 and non-citizens. The voter registration lists and lists of licensed
drivers used to select names for the master jury wheel will hereafter be referred to as the "source
lists." The source lists will be obtained from the Office of the Secretary of State in Austin, Texas.
The master jury wheel for each of the divisions of this Court shall be kept and maintained by the
Clerk in each such division or may be kept either jointly or severally in a duly authorized data
processing system.
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4. Authorization for Electronic Data Processing System. This Court finds it
advantageous to use a properly programmed electronic data processing system to maintain the
master jury wheel and perform other clerical services related to the jury system. Accordingly, the
Clerk is authorized to make such arrangements and procure such assistance as necessary to
establish an electronic data system, or a combination manual and electronic records system, to
perform the duties of the Clerk as hereinafter designated.
This district will utilize the automated data processing equipment furnished by a contractor
and in compliance with resolution by the Judicial Conference of the United States.
5. The Clerk shall maintain a master jury wheel for each division, into which the
names, or the identifying numbers, of all those from the source lists for that division shall be
placed. Should the source lists for a division be too large to be accommodated by the data
processing system described in Section 4, the Clerk will select a smaller number of names in an
amount no less than the minimum required by 28 U.S.C. § 1863(b)(4), and as ordered by the Court
from complete source lists databases in electronic media for the master jury wheel by a purely
randomized process through a properly programmed electronic data processing system. Such
random selections of names from the source lists for inclusion in the master wheel must ensure
that the source lists for 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 lists must also ensure that the mathematical odds of any single name
being picked are substantially equal.
6. The Court may order additional names to be placed in the master jury wheel from
time to time as necessary.
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7. On the initial refilling of the master wheel in each division, not less than one percent
(1%) of the total number of names appearing on the source lists for that division shall be placed in
such wheel.
8. The master wheel of each division shall be emptied and refilled no later than
October 1 of the year following a presidential general election. Each master jury wheel shall be
emptied and refilled periodically every four years.
9. Drawing from the Master Jury Wheel. From time to time as directed by the Court,
the Clerk shall draw at random from the master jury wheel the names of as many persons as may
be required by court order for jury service. The Clerk shall post a general notice in the form of
Section 2, paragraph 2 for public review in the clerk’s office and on the court’s website explaining
the process by which names are periodically and randomly drawn. A properly programmed
electronic data processing system for pure randomized selection will be used to select names from
the master wheel provided that the system ensures that the mathematical odds of any single name
being picked are substantially equal. The Clerk shall mail to every person whose name is drawn
from the master wheel a juror qualification form (as furnished by the Administrative Office of the
United States Courts and as approved by the Judicial Conference of the United States),
accompanied with instructions to fill out and return the form, duly signed and sworn, to the Clerk
by mail or to submit the information required by the form through the court’s website within ten
(10) days. If the person is unable to fill out the form, another shall do it for him and shall indicate
that he has done so and the reason therefor. In any case in which it appears that there is an omission,
ambiguity, or error in a form, the Clerk shall return the form with instructions to the person to
make such additions or corrections as may be necessary and to return the form to the Clerk within
ten (10) days. Any person who fails to return a completed juror qualification form as instructed
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may be summoned by the Clerk forthwith to appear before the Clerk to fill out a juror qualification
form.
10. Persons Exempt from Jury Service and Excuses on Individual Request.
(a) Persons Exempt.
The Court finds that exemption of the following groups of persons or
occupational classes is in the public interest and would not be inconsistent
with the Act; accordingly, members of such groups are barred from jury
service.
(1) Members in active service in the Armed Forces of the United States.
(2) Members of the fire or police departments of any state, city,
municipality, district, territory, possession, or subdivision thereof.
(3) Public Officers in the executive, legislative, or judicial branches of
the government of the United States, or of any state, district,
territory, possession, or subdivision thereof, who are actively
engaged in the performance of official duties. ("Public Officer" shall
mean a person who is either elected to public office or who is
directly appointed by a person elected to public office.)
(b) Excuses on Individual Request.
The Court hereby finds that jury service by members of the following
occupational classes or groups of persons would entail undue hardship or
extreme inconvenience to the members thereof, and the excuse of such
members will not be inconsistent with the Act, and shall be granted upon
individual request:
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(1) Persons having active care and custody of a child or children under
the age of ten (10) years whose health and/or safety would be
jeopardized by their absence for jury service; or a person who is
essential to the care of the aged or infirm persons and who is not
employed outside of the home.
(2) Persons who have served as a grand or petit juror in federal court
within the past two years. In this connection, in any two-year period,
no person shall be required to
(i) serve or attend court for prospective service as a petit juror
for a total of more than thirty days, except when necessary
to complete service in a particular case, or
(ii) serve on more than one grand jury, or
(iii) serve as both a grand and petit juror.
(3) Persons over seventy (70) years of age.
(4) Members of federal law enforcement agencies (i.e., FBI agents,
postal inspectors, customs agents, etc.).
(5) Members of volunteer safety organizations who work in an official
capacity, without compensation, as fire fighters, members of a
rescue squad or members of an ambulance crew.
11. Determination of Qualifications, Excuses, and Exemptions.
(a) The Court upon its own initiative or upon recommendation of the Clerk, or
the Clerk under supervision of the Court, shall determine solely on the basis
of information provided on the juror qualification form and other competent
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evidence whether a person is unqualified for, exempt, or to be excused from
jury service. The Clerk shall enter such determination in the space provided
on the juror qualification form and on any alphabetical list of names drawn
from the master jury wheel. If a person did not appear in response to a
summons, such fact shall be noted on said list.
(b) In making such determination, the Court or Clerk under supervision of the
Court, shall deem any person qualified to serve on grand and petit juries in
the district unless he:
(1) is not a citizen of the United States eighteen years old who has
resided for a period of one year within the judicial district;
(2) is unable to read, write and understand the English language with a
degree of proficiency sufficient to fill out satisfactorily the juror
qualification form;
(3) is unable to speak the English language;
(4) is incapable, by reason of mental or physical infirmity, to render
satisfactory jury service, or
(5) has a charge pending against him 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 civil rights have not
been restored.
(c) The Court shall have the authority to transmit to the Office of the Secretary
of State in Austin, Texas the names of those individuals who are deemed
disqualified under section 15 (b)1 for claiming non-citizenship in the United
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States.
12. Qualified Jury Wheel. The Clerk shall maintain separate qualified jury wheels for
each division in the district and shall place in such wheel the names of all persons drawn from the
master jury wheel who are not disqualified, exempt, or excused pursuant to this Plan. The Clerk
shall ensure that at all times at least 300 names are contained in each division’s qualified wheel.
The qualified jury wheel in each division shall be emptied and refilled effective October 1 of each
year in which the master jury wheel is emptied and refilled, pursuant to Section 9 of this Plan. The
qualified wheel shall then be periodically supplemented with the names of additional qualified
persons from time to time as the need should occur during the life of the master jury wheel.
13. Drawing of Names from the Qualified Wheel. In each division, the names of
persons for service as grand or petit jurors shall be drawn by the Clerk at random from the qualified
wheel at such times and in such numbers as shall be ordered by the Court. The Clerk shall post a
general notice in the form of Section 2, paragraph 2 for public review in the clerk’s office and on
the court’s website explaining the process by which names are periodically and randomly drawn.
A properly programmed electronic data processing system for pure randomized selection will be
used to select names from the qualified wheel provided such system ensures that the mathematical
odds of any single name being picked are substantially equal. Such names shall form a pool from
which both grand and petit jurors may be summoned. The Clerk shall use the following procedure
for ensuring the privacy of those people whose names are selected.
(a) The names so drawn shall not be disclosed to any person other than
employees of the United States in the performance of their official duties,
until after such jurors have been qualified and sworn by a judge or officer
of the Court. The Court may direct an earlier disclosure of the names drawn
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from the qualified jury wheel when the interests of justice require and shall
do so when required by statute (see, e.g., 18 U.S.C.A. § 3432). Unless
ordered by the Court, the names of jurors summoned for service shall not
be disclosed except as provided in subsections (b) and (c) of this section.
(1) In each division, the Clerk shall prepare a list of names of persons
drawn from the qualified wheel for grand or petit juror service. The
Clerk shall issue or cause to be issued summons directed to the
persons so drawn by use of first-class mail. In the event of an
unanticipated shortage of available petit jurors, additional names
may be drawn from the qualified wheel on order of the Court.
(2) In the Galveston and Houston divisions, all grand juries shall sit in
the Houston division, with members summoned from among those
qualified for service in the Galveston or Houston division. The Clerk
shall prepare a list of names of persons drawn from the qualified
wheel of each division in a proportion equal to the proportion of the
source lists between the two divisions. The Clerk shall issue or
cause to be issued summons directed to the persons so drawn by use
of first-class mail, requiring that such person’s report for service to
the Houston divisional office.
(b) After petit jurors have been qualified and sworn by a judge or officer of the
Court, the names of such petit jurors who will proceed through voir dire in
open court shall be made available to those parties and attorneys
participating in the trial. The presiding judge may order that the names
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remain undisclosed when it is in the interests of justice to do so. Upon
completion of voir dire, all papers on which juror names appear shall be
collected. Copies of the strike list and other papers associated with voir
dire will be filed by the Clerk for maintenance according to Section 17
of this Plan.
(c) The names of those selected for grand jury service shall not be maintained
in any public record or otherwise disclosed to any person other than
employees of the United States in the performance of their official duties,
except upon written motion for good cause, and in the public interest. Such
motion shall be presented to the Chief Judge or, in his absence, to the judge
next senior in commission. In connection with such disclosure, certain
United States statutes, such as 18 U.S.C.A. § 3432, require disclosure.
14. Disqualification, Exemption, and Excuse After Summons. Except as herein above
provided, no person or class of persons shall be disqualified, excluded, excused, or exempt from
jury service, provided, that any person summoned for jury service may be:
(a) Excused by the Court, or by the Clerk under supervision of the Court, upon
a showing of undue hardship or extreme inconvenience for such period as
the Court deems necessary. Jurors so excused shall be subject to subsequent
jury service, unless the judge granting the excuse should otherwise rule at
the time of the excuse.
Any person appearing pursuant to summons and then requesting to be
excused for reasons that could readily have been presented prior to his
appearance, shall not receive attendance or mileage fees.
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When there is an excess of jurors present (e.g. grand jury) and their presence
is required for only one day, the Court shall, in its discretion, upon excusing
excess jurors, inform them that they are subject to subsequent jury service.
(b) Excluded by the Court on the ground that such person may be unable to
render impartial jury service or that his service as a juror would be likely to
disrupt the proceedings;
(c) Excluded upon peremptory challenge as provided by law;
(d) Excluded pursuant to the procedure specified by law upon a challenge by
any party for good cause shown;
(e) Excluded upon determination by the Court that his service as a juror would
be likely to threaten the secrecy of the proceedings, or otherwise adversely
affect the integrity of jury deliberations.
No person shall be excluded under clause (e), above, unless the judge, in open court,
determines that such is warranted, and that exclusion of the person will not be inconsistent with
28 U.S.C. §§ 1861 and 1862. The number of persons excluded under clause (e), above, shall not
exceed one percent of the number of persons who return executed juror qualification forms during
the period, specified in the Plan, between two consecutive fillings of the master jury wheel. The
names of persons excluded under clause (e), above, together with detailed explanations for the
exclusions, shall be forwarded immediately to the Judicial Council of the circuit, which shall have
the power to make any appropriate order, prospective, or retroactive, to redress any misapplication
of clause (e), but otherwise exclusions effectuated under such clause shall not be subject to
challenge under the provisions of Title 28 of the United States Code. Any person excluded from a
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particular jury under clause (b), (c), or (d), above, shall be eligible to sit on another jury if the basis
for his initial exclusion would not be relevant to his ability to serve on such other jury.
15. Utilization of Petit Jurors Among Various Judges in the Same Division. It shall be
the policy of this Court to utilize the services of all qualified jurors summoned as fully and as
efficiently as circumstances permit. To that end, it is contemplated that the judges of this Court
will coordinate their jury settings to permit the same pool of petit jurors to serve more than one
judge. Jurors summoned for service shall appear as instructed in the summons. The names of those
appearing shall be listed in computerized database records. In choosing a panel to serve in a
particular judge’s courtroom for a given period of time, or for the trial of a particular case or cases,
the panel shall be chosen by shuffling or thoroughly mixing database records of all jurors in the
jury pool then available for such service; and the requisite number to compose such panel shall be
taken in order from such commingled database records. On completion of such service, the jurors
composing such panel may be returned to the pool for further service in the same or another
courtroom.
16. Challenging Compliance with Selection Procedures. The procedures prescribed by
28 U.S.C.A. § 1867 shall be the exclusive means of challenging any jury on the ground that such
jury was not selected in conformity with the provisions of Chapter 121 of Title 28 of the United
States Code Annotated.
17. Maintenance of Records. After any master jury wheel is emptied and refilled as
provided above, and after all persons selected to serve as jurors before such master wheel was
emptied have completed their service, all papers and records compiled and maintained by the Clerk
before the master wheel was emptied shall be preserved in the custody of the Clerk for four (4)
years and shall be available for inspection as ordered by the Court for the purpose of determining
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the validity of the selection of any jury. At the conclusion of such four-year period, such records
and papers shall be destroyed.
18. This plan is based on the conclusion and judgment that the policy, purpose, and
intent of the Jury Selection and Service Act of 1968 will be fully accomplished and implemented
by the use of the source lists, as supplemented by the inclusion of subsequent registrants to the
latest practicable date, as the source of an at random selection of prospective grand and petit jurors
who represent a fair cross section of the community. This determination is supported by all the
information this Court has been able to obtain after diligent effort on its part and after full
consultation with the Fifth Circuit Jury Working Committee and the Judicial Council of the Fifth
Circuit. In order to assure the continuous implementation of the policy, purpose and intent of the
Jury Selection and Service Act, as required by the Judicial Conference of the United States, a
report will be made to the U. S. District Court, Southern District of Texas within six months
following each periodic refilling of the master jury wheel, on forms approved by the Judicial
Conference, giving general data relating to the master jury wheel, the time and manner of name
selection, the source and number of names placed in the wheel and related information, and an
analysis of the race and sex of prospective jurors based on returns of juror qualification forms
mailed to a statistically reliable sample of persons chosen at random from the master jury wheel.
ADOPTED this 22nd day of December 2020.
___________________________________
LEE H. ROSENTHAL
CHIEF JUDGE
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