Opinion ID: 306444
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Refilling master wheel every four years.

Text: 28 Ross argues that the Plan violates the Act in that it provides for refilling the master jury wheel every four years rather than every two years. He bases this argument upon 28 U.S.C. Sec. 1869(c), which requires that the voter list of the most recent state or federal election be used in filling the wheel, and a statement in the legislative history of the Act that this requires that the list used will be no more than two years old. 1968 U.S.Code Cong. & Admin.News, pp. 1806-07. 29 The short answer to this argument is that section 1869(c) does not mention when the wheel is to be refilled. At the time of Ross' trial, the Act provided only that the wheel must be emptied and refilled periodically at specified times, 28 U.S.C. Sec. 1863(b)(4), and the committee report stated that previous bills were found objectionable because they fixed the time for refilling. 1968 U.S. Code Cong. & Admin.News, p. 1800. It thus seems clear that Congress originally intended to allow the districts considerable flexibility in determining when the master jury wheel is to be refilled. The Act required only that when the wheel is refilled, the most recent voter lists be used. See United States v. Kuhn, supra, note 3, approving a plan with a five year period for refilling. 30 No matter what period is chosen, there will be some lag and persons who are only recently eligible to vote will be excluded. We are unable to say that four years is an unreasonable period, especially in light of the recent amendment to the Act specifically requiring that the wheels be refilled every four years. Pub.L. No. 92-269, Sec. 3(c) (Apr. 6, 1972). 31