Judges pull courthouse visitors for juries

Judge Ellen Creel ordered St. Tammany Parish sheriff’s deputies on Wednesday, July 8, to bring in additional prospective jurors from in and around the courthouse in Covington after the regular jury pool was exhausted. The order came at the 22nd Judicial District Court, which serves St. Tammany and Washington parishes. The St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office said deputies were told to approach people near the courthouse and ask them to report for jury duty. Lt. Suzanne Carboni, a sheriff’s office spokesperson, said 26 prospective jurors were sent to the jury pool room before deputies were instructed to stop. ### Who gave the order, and where did it happen? The 22nd Judicial District Court lists Creel as the judge for Division J at the St. Tammany Parish Justice Center, 701 N. Columbia Street in Covington. WWL-TV reported that Creel determined the existing jury pool was not large enough to complete jury selection for ongoing court proceedings. The sheriff’s office directed questions about why the process was used, and what led to the order, to Creel’s office. (wwltv.com) Wednesday’s order was described by the sheriff’s office as the first use of the procedure in recent St. Tammany Parish history, according to WWL-TV. NOLA.com reported the order was issued for a rape trial, though the court had not publicly detailed the case in the material reviewed here. (wwltv.com) ### How can people walking near a courthouse be summoned for jury duty? Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure Article 785 allows judges to call “tales jurors” when the petit jury venire is exhausted or about to be exhausted before a trial jury is impaneled. In parishes other than Orleans, Article 785 says a judge may order the summoning of tales jurors from “bystanders or persons in or about the courthouse” instead of drawing more names. WWL-TV said that is the process deputies were using in St. (wwltv.com) Tammany on Wednesday. The 22nd Judicial District Court’s jury service page says regular jurors are selected at random from driver’s license and voter registration records and are summoned by subpoena for a week of service. The emergency tales-juror process is different because it pulls from people already present at or near the courthouse when the pool runs short. ### How many people were brought in before the court stopped? (legis.la.gov) Carboni said 26 prospective jurors had been sent to the jury pool room before deputies were told to stop. WWL-TV reported that deputies had been instructed to approach people near the courthouse and ask them to report for jury duty that afternoon. The sheriff’s office did not say in the material reviewed here how many of those 26 people were ultimately qualified or seated. (online.22ndjdc.org) The court’s public jury information page says jurors in the 22nd Judicial District receive $25 a day for each day served. It also lists baseline qualifications, including being at least 18, able to read, write and speak English, and having lived in the parish for at least one year. ### Why has the order drawn attention? WWL-TV reported that the sheriff’s office believed the process had not been used in recent memory in St. (wwltv.com) Tammany Parish. That rarity appears to be the reason the order drew immediate attention from local lawyers, residents and television stations on July 8 and July 9. MSN summaries of local television reports said attorneys and residents described the move as highly unusual, and one follow-up report said experts raised questions about how such a last-minute pool could affect jury composition. (online.22ndjdc.org) Louisiana law, however, expressly permits the practice outside Orleans Parish. The legal question raised in local coverage was not whether tales jurors are allowed, but how often the power is used and under what circumstances a judge decides the regular venire is insufficient. ### What happens next? Judge Creel’s office had not responded to WWL-TV’s request for comment as of that report. (wwltv.com) The next public facts are likely to come from the court, the sheriff’s office or filings tied to the underlying criminal case in the 22nd Judicial District Court in Covington. The court’s online system lists jury-duty contacts through its Jury Coordinator’s Office, and the courthouse remains the central site for any further proceedings tied to the July 8 order. (legis.la.gov)