Local Rule 1.5
JURY MANAGEMENT PLAN
JURY ELIGIBILITY
To ensure that the jury
pool is representative of the adult population of Crawford County Ohio,
all persons are eligible to serve on a jury, except as follows:
1. Persons less than 18 years of age.
2. Persons who are not residents of
All
reasonable efforts shall be made to accommodate prospective jurors who have
special needs.
GENERAL
PROCEDURES FOR JURY DRAWINGS
ANNUAL
DRAWING
Potential
jurors shall be drawn from a jury source list, which shall constitute a list of
all registered voters in
For
jury drawing purposes, the year shall run from September 1 to August 31. Prior
to May 1 and after the term selection held in April, the system programmer
shall provide and upload into the data processing files for the jury selection
program a list, as provided by the State Board of Election, of all registered
voters for
The
Jury Commission shall consist of two persons, of opposite political parties.
The Commission shall split the list between the two and each will send
questionnaires to the prospective jurors on their list. When the questionnaires
are returned, each is inspected by the Jury Commission and decisions are made
concerning their eligibility to serve as provided by Section 2313.34 of the
Ohio Revised Code. After all corrections are made, the names of the eligible
jurors are retained in the data processing files. The Jury Commission shall
certify to the Clerk of Courts a list of the qualified and unqualified jurors.
TERMS OF
COURT DRAWING PROCEDURE
Three
times a year, the Clerk of Courts shall conduct a Term of Court jury drawing.
Each Court shall submit to the Clerk of Common Pleas Court the number of
persons requested to be drawn for that term. The Clerk shall then conduct the
drawing according to that request for that particular term. The term drawing
venires shall be filed with the Clerk of Courts and copies forwarded to the
proper Courts.
In
the event that the panels drawn are insufficient to meet the needs for a
particular Court in that particular jury year, the Jury Commissioners shall
reconvene as necessary to select additional jury panels in accordance with ORC
2313.01.
If,
in the opinion of the Court, this jury list is not representative of the adult
population of
Random
selection processes shall be utilized to assign prospective jurors to specific
panels and for assignment during voir dire.
Departures
from random selection shall be permitted only as follows:
1. To exclude persons ineligible for service.
2. To excuse or defer prospective jurors.
3. To remove prospective jurors for cause or if challenged
peremptorily.
4.
To provide all prospective jurors with an opportunity to be called for jury service and to be assigned to a
panel.
All
prospective jurors shall be notified by regular mail of their requirement of
service by the issuance of a summons directing them to appear on the date
assigned.
All
prospective jurors shall be required to complete a second jury questionnaire
and, if appropriate, request an excuse, exemption or a deferral by letter to
the Court. Said summons shall be phrased so as to be readily understood by an
individual unfamiliar with the legal process and shall be delivered by ordinary
mail. Said summons shall clearly explain how and when the recipient must
respond and the consequences of his failure to respond. Any person who fails to
respond to a duly served summons shall be served with a citation for contempt
of court and must appear to answer on said summons or, if appropriate, shall be
arrested and detained for examination as to why they failed to attend.
SUMMONING
OF PROSPECTIVE JURORS
Prospective
jurors shall be summoned only upon the filing of a written jury demand, if
required.
Prospective
jurors shall be summoned to appear in sufficient numbers to accommodate trial
activity. Panels of forty-five (45) persons per jury group shall be summoned
for service unless the Court determines that a lesser or greater number is
necessary for a particular trial.
Every
effort shall be made to resolve cases prior to summoning a jury. If a trial is
settled on the day of trial, all lawful jury costs shall be assessed against
the party who requested the jury.
Persons
summoned for petit jury service shall receive compensation in the amount of
Thirty Dollars ($30.00) per day. Compensation for grand jurors will be Thirty
Dollars ($30.00) per day. Such fees shall be promptly paid from the
EXEMPTION,
EXCUSE, AND DEFERRAL
All
persons except those who exercise their right to exemption are subject to service.
Eligible persons who are summoned may be excused from service only if it is
determined that their ability to receive and evaluate information is so
impaired that they are unable to perform their duties as jurors, or that
service upon a jury would constitute a significant hardship to them or members
of the public. Persons excused from service shall be deferred and may be
subject to jury service at a later time.
The
following factors constitute a partial, although not exclusive, list of excuses
for which a person may be excused or deferred from jury service:
1.
Any person who suffers from a substantial physiological or psychological
impairment.
2.
Any person who has a scheduled vacation or business trip during potential jury
service.
3.
Any person for whom jury service would constitute a substantial economic
hardship.
4.
Any person for whom service on a jury would constitute a substantial hardship
on their family, clients, or members of the public affected by the prospective
juror's occupation.
5.
Any person who has served on a jury within the last year.
6.
Any person for whom it may be readily determined is unfit for jury service.
7.
Any person for whom it is readily apparent would be unable to perform their
duty as a juror.
8.
Any other valid excuse.
No
person shall be excused from jury service except by the Judge or an individual
specifically authorized to excuse jurors.
Once
a prospective juror has submitted his request for excuse, the prospective juror
must report for service unless otherwise notified by the Court.
EXAMINATION
OF PROSPECTIVE JURORS
Examination
of prospective jurors shall be limited to matters relevant to determining
whether to remove a juror for cause and to determine the juror's fairness and
impartiality.
All
prospective jurors shall be placed under oath in accordance with the Ohio
Revised Code. The oath administered shall incorporate an oath to assure the
truthfulness of the answers provided on jury questionnaires.
Jury
questionnaires indicating basic background information concerning panel members
shall be made available to counsel one week prior to the day on which jury
selection is to begin.
Counsel
is permitted to record or copy the information contained on the questionnaires,
except addresses and telephone numbers, so long as all copies of jury
questionnaires are returned to the Court upon completion of the trial. Under
no circumstances may counsel or a party retain any jury questionnaire.
Neither
counsel nor party will be permitted to question prospective jurors as to
matters contained in the questionnaire. Parties and counsel may be permitted to
ask follow up questions concerning such information.
The
Court shall conduct a preliminary voir dire examination concerning basic and
relevant matters and counsel shall be permitted a reasonable period of time to
question panel members thereafter. Counsel or parties shall conform their voir
dire questioning to the following rules:
1.
Counsel may not examine prospective jurors concerning the law or possible
instructions.
2.
Counsel may not ask jurors to base answers on hypothetical questions.
3.
Counsel may not argue the case while questioning jurors.
4.
Counsel may not engage in efforts to indoctrinate jurors.
5.
Jurors may not be asked what kind of verdict they might return under any
circumstances. No promises may be elicited from jurors.
6.
Questions are to be asked collectively of the panel whenever possible.
7.
Counsel may inquire by general questions concerning the validity and philosophy
of reasonable doubt or the presumption of innocence.
In
all cases, voir dire shall be held on the record but may be conducted outside
the presence of other jurors in order to protect juror privacy or to avoid
juror embarrassment.
If
it is determined by the Court during the voir dire process that an individual
is unable or unwilling to sit in a particular case fairly and impartially, the
individual shall be removed from the panel. Such motion for removal for cause
may be made by counsel, a party if unrepresented, or upon the motion of the
Court. Further, Ohio Revised Code 2313.42 and Ohio Criminal Rule of Procedure
24(B) set forth additional case challenges which may be made against potential
jurors.
Peremptory
challenges shall be exercised alternately as presently established by Ohio
Revised Code 2945.23, Civil Rule 47, and Criminal Rule 24 unless, prior to
trial, the parties agree on the record to another method.
Challenges
to the jury array shall be made in accordance with established rules of procedure.
JURY
ORIENTATION
Jurors
shall report for service no later than
Prospective
jurors shall be provided with written and audio/visual orientation materials
upon their initial appearance and prior to service. The Court shall give
preliminary instructions to all prospective jurors, as well as additional instructions
following the impaneling of the jury to explain the jury's role and trial
procedures of the Court along with other basic and relevant legal principals.
Upon
the completion of the case and prior to jury deliberations, the Court shall instruct
the jury on the law and the appropriate procedures to be followed during the
course of deliberations.
A
final jury charge shall, whenever possible, be committed to writing and shall
be provided to the jury for its use during deliberation.
Upon
appearance for service, all prospective jurors shall be placed under the
supervision of assigned personnel and shall direct any questions or
communications to such Court personnel for appropriate action.
All
jury deliberations shall be conducted in the jury deliberation room. Jury
deliberation rooms shall include space, furnishings and facilities conducive to
reaching a fair verdict.
Court
personnel shall endeavor to secure the safety of all prospective jurors and
shall arrange and conduct all activities so as to minimize conduct between
jurors, parties, counsel and the public.
Deliberations
shall not continue after a reasonable hour unless the trial judge determines
that evening and weekend deliberations would not impose an undue hardship upon
the jurors and are required in the interest of justice. Jurors shall be
consulted prior to any decision.
If
jury deliberations are halted, jurors shall be permitted to be separated
unless, for good cause shown, the Court finds that sequestration is necessary.
If a jury is sequestered, the Court shall undertake the responsibility to
oversee the conditions of sequestration and the transportation of all jurors.
Upon
reaching a verdict, all jurors shall return to the courtroom where the verdict
or verdicts shall be read in open court. Upon the reading of the verdict, in
criminal cases, either party may request the jury be polled.
CONCLUSION
The
Court shall collect and analyze information regarding the performance of this
jury management plan to evaluate the representativeness of the jury pool; the
effectiveness of the summoning procedures; the responsiveness of individual
citizens to jury summons; the efficient use of jurors; the cost effectiveness
of this plan, and overall juror satisfaction.
(Effective
August 31, 1995)
(Revised