Opinion ID: 1980188
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Statutory provisions authorizing challenges to compliance with selection procedures.

Text: Both the DCJSA and FJSSA contain provisions for objecting to the composition of juries and jury venires. The District's statute, under the heading of Challenging Compliance with Selection Procedures, provides: A party may challenge the composition of a jury by a motion for appropriate relief. A challenge shall be brought and decided before any individual juror is examined, unless the Court orders otherwise. The motion shall be in writing, supported by affidavit, and shall specify the facts constituting the grounds for the challenge. If the Court so determines, the motion may be decided on the basis of the affidavits filed with the challenge. If the Court orders trial of the challenge, witnesses may be examined on oath by the Court and may be so examined by either party. D.C.Code § 11-1910(a). The corresponding federal statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1867, which has an identical heading, is organized somewhat differently, and it is considerably more detailed. The FJSSA states that, in criminal cases, within specified time limits, the defendant may move to dismiss the indictment or stay the proceedings against him on the ground of substantial failure to comply with the provisions of this title in selecting the grand or petit jury. 28 U.S.C. § 1867(a). It further provides that upon the filing of such a motion, the moving party shall be entitled to present in support of such motion the testimony of the jury commission[er] or clerk, if available, any relevant records and papers not public or otherwise available used by the jury commissioner or clerk, and any other relevant evidence 28 U.S.C. § 1867(d). In other words, the statute affirmatively contemplates that information and records relating to jury selection, not otherwise available to the general public, may be presented in support of a motion challenging jury selection procedures. The DCJSA provides, somewhat analogously, that the contents of any records or lists used in connection with the selection process shall not be disclosed, except in connection with the preparation or presentation of a motion under § 11-1910, or until all individuals selected to serve as grand or petit jurors from such lists have been discharged. D.C.Code § 11-1914(b) (emphasis added). Thus, in the District, as under federal law, it is contemplated that a defendant who makes or prepares a motion directed at the juror selection process may, at least under some circumstances, have access to records not otherwise available to the public at large. Finally, the federal statute contains a provision that relates directly to the kind of discovery sought by appellants in the present case: The parties in a case shall be allowed to inspect, reproduce, and copy such records or papers at all reasonable times during the preparation and pendency of such a motion. 28 U.S.C. § 1867(f) (emphasis added). There is no corresponding provision in the DCJSA. Thus, the law applicable to the District prior to 1986 expressly provided an unqualified right to inspect and copy such documents even before a Jury Motion has been filed. The DCJSA does not provide such a right, at least explicitly.