OFFICE OF l-NE ATTORNEYGENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN
Honorable Milton Order Mel1
Distriat Attorney
7th Judioiab M&riot
Tylec, Texas
Dear Slrr
Your requeet for n reodred end oare-
fully oonsider@dby this d eta iron your re-
quest aa fOl.lOWP~
8 +ors in the
u till observe
a the'word 'juror8
itioallr state that
ram $rom the Jury
0 8 statute, Arfiole 333 of
al Proaedure, providing for
eation of grand jarore. The
uld grand ~ju@orraa well aa
e ssleoted frm the jury wheel
In Countieswhere the jury wheel IS in use,
or should the Court eel&t the petit Jury from
the jury wheel and oriiera ifuryCornrniesiou
to
piok the Grand Jury'?"
Artiole 2094, Vernm*e Annotated Texas Civil Stat-
ute8, is applioableto Smith County, Texas, and reads as foll~rt
Honorable Milton Greer Mell, Page 2
*Between the first and flfteenfhdays of
August of each year, In each oounty hsvlng a
populationof at least fifty-eightthousand or
having therein a city containinge population
of crtleast twenty thousand,es shown by the
preoedlngFederal Ceneue, the Tax Colleotoror
one of hie deputies,together with the Tax
Assessor or one :.fthis deputlee, togetherwith
the Sherlfr or one of his deputies,end the
Coun6y Clerk or one of his deputies, and the
Dlstrlot Clerk or one of hla deputlee,ahall
meet et the court house of their county and
select from the list of qualified jurors of
such oounty es shown by the tax lists In the
Tax Ameaeor*a ofrlce for the ourrent year,
the jurors for servlae in the District end
County Courts of suah uounty for the ensuing
year In the menner hereinafterprovided.*
Artlole 2095, V. A. T. C. S., dlreote the method
or plaolng cards or the neme8 and eddreaeerof prospeotlve
Jurors in the jury wheel, eta.
Article 2096, v. A. T. C. S., reads a8 hollows:
Wet leee than ten deyr prior to the first
day of e term of court, the dlstrlot olerk or
one of his deputlee, end the sheriff, or one
of hle deputlee, In the presenoe and under the
direction of the dletrlot judge, It the juror6
are to be drawn for the district oourt, or
the clerk of the county court, or one 02 his
deputies, end the eherlff, or one of hla
deputies, in the presence and under the dfrea-
tion of the county judge, if the jurors are
to be drawn for the county oourt, shall draw
from the wheel containingthe names of jurorfi.
aft+-rthe same has been well turned 80 that
the cards therein are thoroughlymixed, one
by one the namee OS thirty-elx jurors, or a
greater or less number where euah judge hae
80 directed, for each week of the term Or
the diatriot or county court@ for wbioh a
jury my be required,end shall reaord suoh
nemea es they ere drawn upon es many separate
Honorable Milton Greer Well, Page 3
sheets of paper as there are weeks for such
term or terma for which jurors will be re-
quired. At euch drawing& no pereon other
than thoee above nemed shell be permltted
to be present. The officers attending such
drawing shall not divulge the name of any
person that may be drewu ae a juror to any
person.'
We oall your partiauler attentionto Article 2097,
Vernon'8 Annotated Texas Civil Stetutes,which clearly
denotes thet the j-m wheel system is applioableto the
eeleotlonQd petit jurors,'not grand jurors. Said article
reed6 ao follows:
"The aeverel lists of neme8 w drawn, shall
be certifiedunder the hand of the olerk or
the deputy doing the drawing, end the dls-
trlot or oounty judge in wboee lzresenoesefd
names were drawn from the wheel, to be the
list dram by said olerk for the said aeveral
weeks, end ahall be sealed up In separate
envelopes lndoreed, 'List 0s D&it jurors
for the week of the term of the
00GT0r uo*tF(rilling in the
blanka properled the Clark doing the
drawing shall write his name across the seals
of the envelopes and shell then inunedletely
deliver the same to the judge in wbse pro-~
eence euch names were drawn, or to hie IIUO-
cesctorIn offlae in case euoh judge dies before
such delivery can bemwde to him.* (Undersoorlng
our01
We quote irom 26 Texas Jurisprudence, Jury~ Sec-
;;E~;; Deflnltloneand Terminology,pagea 566 and 5b7, aa
:
*Whwre the word *jury' 16 used alone it
usuelly algnlrles 0 petit jury, and it 1s 80
used throughout this article. Generally speek-
Ine, *jury*meens the twelve or sir:meu or-
ganized for the trial oi e partiou;lerceee, but
the term is also used more broadly in the eense
of"panel*. . . ..
Honorable Mlltm Greer Hell, Page 4
e'Panel* la another word that is used in
various aense8. According to lte context, it
may mean the jurors for the term or for the week,
or the names drawn from the box end lleted.
The word haa also been used to deelgnete the
men lmpaneledto try the cause and even an
individualjuror. Similarly, the terms *lm-
penelment'end 'lmpaneled'are used to denote
completionof the organizationof a panel
for the week and a jury for the dause.
*'Juror' la aleo a word of comprehensive
meaning, slgnlfylngeither one eligibleto
serve, or one selected to serve, or one on
the panel, or one actually eerving. Since lt
tends to olarlty that the word used should
indicate.ðer proepective or aotual service
is meant, tjurorlmight be used in this artl-
cle in the proepeotlve sense and *juryman
-ployed to denote one who actually sits in
the cese.W
Chapter 1, Title 7, Vernon's AnnotatedTexas Code
of CriminalProcedure, provldee a epeciflo end detailed
method for the organization of the Grand Juti. Article
333, V. A. T. 0. 0. P., provides for the appointmentof
three jury oommlstilonere,by the District Judge at each
term of the Dletriot Court, and presorlbea certain quali-
rlcatlonewhloh eaoh jury commlealonermust posseam.
Article 334, v. A. T. 0. C. P., provides for thenrtifloa-
flon of suoh oommGslonera of sueh appointment. Article
335, V. A. T. C. 0. P., presorlbea the form of oath to be
taken by euoh oommlseloners. Article 336, V, A. T. 0. C. P.,
provides for the lnstruatlonby the Judge of said commle-
eloners es to their dutlea, eto. Article 337, V? A. T.
c. c. P., provides that the jury commissionoreshall be
kept free from intrusion during their seasion,etc. Arti-
cle 338, V. A. T. C. C. P., provides that the jury oommle-
sloners shall select sixteen men from the cltlzens of the
differentportion6 of the oounty to be eummonedas grand
jurors for the next term of the court. We also sail y&r
attentionto krtloles 340, 341, 342, 344, 345, 348, 349,
352, 353, 354, 355 end 39,7,Vernrn's Annotated Texas Code
of Criminal lrocedure,which deal with the organization
of the grand jury.
Honorable Mllton Qreer Mell, Page 5
You are respeotfullyadtlaed that It Is the opinion
or this department:
I
1. That Articles 209k, 2095, 2096, et seq., Vernon's
AnnotatedTexas Civil Statutes, known as the "Jurg Wheel
Lawa deal with the selection of petit jurors In oounty end
dlstrlot courts and not with the seleotion of grand Jurors.
2. That petit jurors of Smith Oounty, Texas, In
oounty and district oourts should be seleoted under the
*h.ry Wheel Law".
3. That grand jurors of Smith County, Texas,
should be eeleoted In the manner outlined by the pertinent
statutes set out In Ohnpter 1, Title 7% Vernon's Annotated
Texeo Oode of Criminal Prooedure.
Trusting that this satisfaotorilyanswers your
inquiry,we are
Very truly your6
ATTORNEYGYXEF&LOFTEXAS
Wm. J. Panning
Assistanti
UCFtCO
ATTONiEY CKEEERAL OF TEXAS