PUBLIC NOTICE re Selection of Grand and Petit Jurors
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 names selected from the source lists (Voter Registration and Transportation Cabinet) for inclusion in the Master Jury Wheel for the Western District of Kentucky are selected at random.
- The United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky uses a two-step process to select jurors. First, a master jury wheel is created from a list of registered voters, licensed drivers, and state ID holders over the age of 18 from the counties that fall within the Western District of Kentucky. Names are then randomly drawn from the master jury wheel on a periodic basis to receive juror qualification questionnaires. Individuals' answers to these questionnaires determine whether they are legally qualified to serve. If qualified, the names of those persons are put in a second wheel - a qualified wheel.
- As prospective jurors are needed for petit or grand jury service, juror summonses are sent to persons randomly selected from the qualified wheel.
These selections are carried out through an electronic data processing system for pure randomized selection. The pure randomized selection ensures that the mathematical odds of any single name being drawn are substantially equal.