Opinion ID: 1701928
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Did the trial court err in failing to quash the special venire upon motion of the appellant?

Text: Appellant filed a motion for special venire facias which was sustained by the trial judge. Forty additional jurors were summoned; however, only twenty-three jurors appeared. Five of the twenty-three jurors summoned were excused by the trial judge. Appellant moved to quash the special venire on the ground that the special venire amounted to no venire at all from which appellant could select a jury. Smith v. State, 242 Miss. 728, 137 So.2d 172 (1962), is dispositive of the issue. There the trial court ordered, upon Smith's request, the summoning of a special venire of forty jurors. Only eighteen appeared. The court excused three for cause and after challenges by the parties of others, only six jurors remained from the original venire. Smith moved to quash the special venire because only eleven out of the forty called were available. In upholding the trial court's action in overruling Smith's motion to quash, this Court stated: Code Sec. 1795 provides that after the venire is exhausted the trial court shall make up the jury from the regular panel and tales jurors who may have been summoned for the day. This was what the court did. There is no evidence to show appellant was prejudiced by this procedure, or the jury was not impartial. In Walford v. State, 106 Miss. 19, 63 So. 316 (1913), under somewhat similar facts, it was said: The sheriff failed to summon forty jurors, and therefore to that extent failed to obey the order of the court; but under section 2718 this provision of the jury law is directory merely. Since there is no hint in the record that an impartial jury was not obtained, appellant suffered no harm by reason of the fact that the sheriff only summoned thirty men, and cannot complain thereof. A special venire will not be quashed except for fraud or total departure from the procedure laid down by statute. Here there was no total departure nor any suggestion of fraud. Riley v. State, 208 Miss. 336, 44 So.2d 455 (1950). See also Harrison v. State, 168 Miss. 699, 152 So. 494 (1934); Williams v. State, 26 So.2d 64 (Miss. 1946); Code Sec. 1796. The provisions of the law in relation to the listing, drawing, summoning and empaneling juries are directory. Code Sec. 1798. (242 Miss. at 733, 137 So.2d at 173) Since there is no evidence to show appellant was prejudiced by this procedure or the jury was not impartial, this assignment of error is without merit.