Free Order - District Court of Arizona - Arizona

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 In an order dated November 9, 2005, the Court p rop os ed jury selection procedures t o be us ed in this case. Doc. #889. The order directed the parties to file comments on t he Court's proposal by December 14, 2005, and noted that the prop os al w ould be discussed with the parties at the twelfth cas e management conference on December 21, 2005. Defendants filed no comments and indicated at the start of the twelfth case management that they had no objections to the Court's proposal. The Government stated in a filing vs. Robert J. Johnston, et al., Defendants. United States of America, Plaintiff, ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) CR-03-1167-PHX-DGC ORDER IN THE UNITED S TATES DIS TRICT COURT FOR THE DIS TRICT OF ARIZONA

dated December 14, 2005, that it did not object to the Court's proposal. Doc. #976 at 2. On the basis of these actions and the discussion held at the twelfth case management conference, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED: 1. The Clerk shall mail summonses and the Court's standard juror qualification

questionnaires to approximately 8000 prospective jurors during the first week of J anuary 2006. 2. Pursuant to the Court's Jury Selection Plan, t he J ury Administrator will

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review completed ques t ionnaires as they are received and, upon a prospective juror's request, excuse from jury service (1) p ers ons over 70 years of age, (2) persons who have served as a grand or trial juror within the las t t w o y ears , and (3) volunteer safety personnel. See General Order 04-20, at 5 (Dec. 1, 2004). Counsel will not be permitted to object to these standard hardship excuse requests. See id. 3. Because the trial in this case will last several months, the Court w ill aut horize

the Jury Administrator tentatively to excuse jurors whose qualification ques tionnaires identify one or more of the following grounds for hardship: a. employers; b. Full-time self-employed individuals whose regular work includes the Full-time wage earners who w ill not be compensated by their

hours of 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Tuesday through Friday; c. Sole caretakers of school age children or of other individuals,

including elderly persons, who require extensive supervision; d. Individuals who suffer from documented medical difficult ies and for

whom jury service would impose an undue risk of physical or psychological harm; e. Special education teachers or other teachers for whom a comparable

substitute is not reasonably available; f. g. h. transportation; or i. Individuals who live a distance of 60 miles or more, one-w ay , from A parent who home-schools his or her children; Full-time students; Individuals who have no access to transportation, including public

Phoenix, and who cannot stay over night in Phoenix because they have minor children at home. 4. Between January 30 and February 3, 2006, at times to be coordinated among

all counsel and scheduled w it h the Jury Administrator, counsel may review and object to the excusal of any individuals tent atively excused by the Jury Administrator on the basis
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of the foregoing nine criteria.

Counsel will review the questionnaires for tentatively

excused jurors at the Court's jury office and may object to the excusal of a tentatively excused juror by placing the questionnaire for that juror in a designated pile. Counsel will not be permitted to view the front of the questionnaire, copy or write on the questionnaires, or t ake notes during their review of the questionnaires. All prospective

jurors whose tentative excusal by the Jury Adminis t rat or has not been objected to by any party will be excused for hardship without further consideration by the Court. 5. A hearing will be held on February 8, 2006 at 9:00 a.m., for t he Court and

counsel to address each tentatively excused juror whose excusal has been objected to by a party. The Court will decide, on the basis of this hearing, which tentatively excused

jurors will be excused for hardship without voir dire. 6. Counsel shall joint ly file a proposed case-specific jury questionnaire by

January 20, 2006. The prop os ed questionnaire shall include (a) questions to which all the parties have stipulated, (b) non-stipulated questions proposed by the Government , and (c) non-stipulated questions proposed by Defendant s . The first question on the

questionnaire will call for any genuine hardship issues the prospective juror wishes to raise. The Court and counsel will settle the final jury questionnaire at the hearing on

February 8, 2006. 7. Following the February 8 hearing, prospective jurors who have not been

excused for hardship during the proces s described in paragraphs 1-5 above will complete the case-specific jury questionnaire. The questionnaire w ill be mailed to these jurors Copies of the completed questionnaires will be

during the third week of February 2006. provided to counsel on M arch 24, 2006. 8.

On or before April 1, 2006, the Court will issue an order identifying all

jurors whom, on the basis of the completed questionnaires, the Court concludes should be excused for hardship. before April 8, 2006. Counsel may object to the Court's hardship conclusions on or

J urors identified in the Court's order and not objected to by the

parties by April 8, 2006, shall be excused for hardship without further consideration by the
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Court.

Jurors not identified in the Court's order, and those identified but objected to by

a party, shall appear for voir dire. 9. Beginning on Apri l 25, 2006, the Court and counsel will conduct a voir dire Twent y -five

examination, including challenges for cause, of 50 prospective jurors a day.

jurors s hall appear at 9:00 a.m. and twenty-five at 1:00 p.m. Jurors not excused for hardship or successfully challenged for caus e w ill be instructed to return to the Court for final jury selection on a day to be announced administration office. by dial-in telephone recording at the jury

When voir dire has produced a sufficient number of prospective

jurors to leave 18 jurors after any new hards hip is s ues have been considered and the parties have exercised all peremptory challenges (approximately 50-60), voir dire will cease and the Court will schedule a day for final jury selection. 10. On the day of final jury selection, the Court and counsel will addres s any new The parties shall exercise peremptory challenges simultaneously

hardship excuse requests.

and secretly. The Government will have nine and Defendants collectively will have thirteen peremptory challenges. Following the exercise of peremptory challenges, the Court will Alternates will be

empanel eighteen jurors, a number which includes six alternates. designated at the end of the case by random draw. 11.

The Court has not decided whether the jury in this case will be anonymous.

Defendants indicated at the twelfth case management conference that they do not believe an anonymous jury is needed. The Government will set forth its position in connection Regardless

with the proposed jury questionnaire to be submitted on January 20, 2006.

of whether the jury is anonymous, jurors will be referred t o on the record during voir dire and at all other times only by juror number. DATED this 22nd day of December, 2005.

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