OFFICE OF l-NE ATTORNEYGENERAL OF TEXAS 

AUSTIN 

Honorable Milton Order Mel1 

Distriat Attorney 

7th Judioiab M&riot 

Tyle c, Texas 

Dear Slrr 

Your requeet for 

fully oonsider@d by this d 

quest aa fOl.lOWP~ 

n reodred end oareeta iron your re8 +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@orr aa well aa 

e ssleoted frm the jury wheel 

In Counties where the jury wheel IS in use, 

or should the Court eel&t the petit Jury from 

the jury wheel and oriier a ifury Cornrniesiou to

piok the Grand Jury'?" 

Artiole 2094, Vernm*e Annotated Texas Civil Statute8, is applioable to Smith County, Texas, and reads as foll~rt 
Honorable Milton Greer Mell, Page 2 

*Between the first and flfteenfh days of 

August of each year, In each oounty hsvlng a 

population of at least fifty-eight thousand or 

having therein a city containing e population 

of crt least twenty thousand, es shown by the 

preoedlng Federal Ceneue, the Tax Colleotor or 

one of hie deputies, together with the Tax 

Assessor or one :.f this deputlee, together with 

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 hereinafter provided.* 

Artlole 2095, V. A. T. C. S., dlreote the method 

or plaolng cards or the neme8 and eddreaeer of 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 dfreation of the county judge, if the jurors are 

to be drawn for the county oourt, shall draw 

from the wheel containing the names of jurorfi. 

aft+-r the same has been well turned 80 that 

the cards therein are thoroughly mixed, 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 required. 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 attention to Article 2097, 

Vernon'8 Annotated Texas Civil Stetutes, which clearly 

denotes thet the j-m wheel system is applioable to the 

eeleotlon Qd petit jurors,' not grand jurors. Said article 

reed6 ao follows: 

"The aeverel lists of neme8 w drawn, shall 

be certified under the hand of the olerk or 

the deputy doing the drawing, end the dlstrlot or oounty judge in wboee lzresenoe sefd 

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 IIUOcesctor In offlae in case euoh judge dies before 

such delivery can bemwde to him.* (Undersoorlng 

our01 

We quote irom 26 Texas Jurisprudence, Jury~ Sec- 

;;E~;; Deflnltlone and 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 speekIne, *jury* meens the twelve or sir: meu organized for the trial oi e partiou;ler ceee, 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 lmpaneled to try the cause and even an 

individual juror. Similarly, the terms *lmpenelment' end 'lmpaneled' are used to denote 

completion of the organization of a panel 

for the week and a jury for the dause. 

*'Juror' la aleo a word of comprehensive 

meaning, slgnlfylng either one eligible to 

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, tjurorl might be used in this artlcle in the proepeotlve sense and *juryman 

-ployed to denote one who actually sits in 

the cese.W 

Chapter 1, Title 7, Vernon's Annotated Texas Code 

of Criminal Procedure, provldee a epeciflo end detailed 

method for the organization of the Grand Juti. Article 

333, V. A. T. 0. 0. P., provides for the appointment of 

three jury oommlstilonere, by the District Judge at each 

term of the Dletriot Court, and presorlbea certain qualirlcatlone whloh eaoh jury commlealoner must posseam. 

Article 334, v. A. T. 0. C. P., provides for thenrtifloaflon 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 lnstruatlon by the Judge of said commleeloners es to their dutlea, eto. Article 337, V? A. T. 

c. c. P., provides that the jury commissionore shall be 

kept free from intrusion during their seasion, etc. Article 338, V. A. T. C. C. P., provides that the jury oommlesloners shall select sixteen men from the cltlzens of the 

different portion6 of the oounty to be eummoned as grand 

jurors for the next term of the court. We also sail y&r 

attention to 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 respeotfully adtlaed 

or this department: 

that It Is the opinion 

I 

1. That Articles 209k, 2095, 2096, et seq., Vernon's 

Annotated Texas 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 satisfaotorily answers your 

inquiry, we are 

Very truly your6 

ATTORNEYGYXEF&LOFTEXAS 

UCFtCO 

Wm. J. Panning 

Assistanti 

ATTONiEY CKEEERAL OF TEXAS