Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1899-03-25
JURORS AND JURIES
New Law Governing the Manner of
Selecting Grand and Petit
Juries.
QUALIFICATIONS NECESSARY
Commission of Three Responsible Persons
Constituted, to Be Appointed by Dis
trict Judge-L Listed Names to Be
Kept Secret Until Sum-
mons Issue.

and selection of jurors, which was en-
acted by the SD Legislative assembly,
reads as follows:
Section lit shall be the duty of the
judges of the district court in each dis
trict in this territory at every regular
term that shall be holden in any county
of this territory to appoint in open
court three (3) persons of honor and re-
sponsibility, who shall reside in such
county at least n year preceding such
appointment: and who shall possess all
qualifications required by law for per-
M serving as jurors; and who shall
not have served as members of either
petit or grand jurors in such county
during the u months last preceding the
date of appointment. and shall not have
been during said II months appointed
to select jurors in such county, to con-
stitute a commission to select the grand
and petit jurors to serve at the next
regular term of court in said county.
Every person appointed as such COM
missioner shall, before proceeding to
the discharge of his duties, take an oath
that he will faithfully and impartially
discharge his duties as such commits
sioner, and tina he will keep secret the
names of all persons selected as grand
and petit jurors.
Sec. BIT shall be the duty of such
| commission. not less than 20 nor more
| than 80 days preceding the term of the
| court for which it shall be their duty to
| select grand and petit juries, as herein
| provided, to meet and to retire to some
| convenient place, and there to select II
qualified persons to constitute a grand
| jury and "a qualified persons to consti-
tute a petit jury for. the next succeeding
court in such county. And no person
who has served as a member of the
grand or petit jury or as a commissions
er to select juries in such county during
the II months next preceding the date
| of the selection of such jurors shall be
a qualified juror to serve at the next
| succeeding term of such court, nor shall
it be proper to select such persons. The
| names of the Jurors selected by said
| commission shall be retained in sepa-
rate lists, as follows:
The names of the persons so selected
| for grand jurors shall be put into a
/ written list, which shall be certified to
| and signed by said jury commission and
| sealed up securely in an envelope and
| delivered by them to the clerk of the
| district court for the district in which
it was made, who shall write across the
| place of sealing the words grand jur-
ors," and shall sign his name thereto,
and the same procedure shall be had
with the list of persons so selected for
| petit jurors. And the same shall be filed
| in the office of the clerk Of the court for
| which said jurors are selected, and by
| said clerk safely kept until the same
| shall be opened, as hereinafter provided.
Sec. 3.-That in the United States
| courts of this territory, in which suits
and causes of the United States are
| tried, juries shall consist of q persons,
| who shall possess in all cases all of the
| qualifications required by law to serve
as Jurors; and petit juries shall consist
| of "a persons having the same qualifica-
! tions. Such grand and petit jurors shall
be selected by three persons of honor
and responsibility, who shall be APP
pointed by the judge of the United
States court for the district at each reg
liar term. and said commissioners shall
be persons who have resided in such jul
dicial district at least one year mex
preceding such appointment, and shall
possess the qualifications and take the
oath as required in the case of commits
sioners selected to select the juries pro-
jurors for said United States courts
shall be selected as grand and petit
jurors under section 2 of this act, and
the lists thereof shall be in like
certified, signed, sealed and Endorsed as
follows: Provided, That the number Of
jurors from each county in the judicial
district for which such juries are select
ed shall be in proportion, as nearly as
may be, that the total number to be Sc
lected bears to the population of the
county in said district, as shown by the
last United States census of said coun-
ties.
Sec. 4.-That in any of the judicial
districts in this territory where the
judges of the district courts shall not
have appointed commissioners to select
jurors to serve at the next ensuing term
of court a s provided in this act, then in
such east the judges of the district
courts in their respective districts are
hereby authorized to appoint such COM
missioners at any time before the first
day Of such next ensuing term, and the
persons so appointed to select jurors
same qualifications as are prescribed by
this act for persons to serve as jurors.
Sec. 5.-That the packages Of the
courts containing the names and (of)
grand and petit jurors shall be, by said
clerks, 20 days before said term of court
for which said jurors have been drawn
and selected, opened in the presence of
the sheriff or deputy sheriff of the coun-
ty, and in the presence of any citizen
who may wish to be present, and in
case the Goth day before the first day of
the term of court shall fall on Sunday,
her on the next Monday after the said
Sunday the packages containing the
names of the jurors shall be opened,
and forthwith the said clerk shall issue
m in the form of venires to the
sheriff of the county for the territorial
i1lrnrs and to the limited States mar