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2018 Georgia Code 15-12-40 | Car Wreck Lawyer

Link to State of Georgia Official Statute 2018 Georgia Code Annotated (sourced from legal.resource.org)
O.C.G.A. 15-12-40 Case Law from Google Scholar Amendments to OCGA 15-12-40

TITLE 15 COURTS

Section 12. Juries, 15-12-1 through 15-12-172.

ARTICLE 3 SELECTION OF JURORS

15-12-40. Ineligibility to serve as trial juror.

Any person who has been convicted of a felony in a state or federal court who has not had his or her civil rights restored and any person who has been judicially determined to be mentally incompetent shall not be eligible to serve as a trial juror.

(Code 1981, §15-12-40, enacted by Ga. L. 2012, p. 173, § 3-1/HB 665.)

Effective date.

- This Code section became effective July 1, 2012.

Cross references.

- Registration of voters and compilation of official registered voters' lists, § 21-2-210 et seq.

Editor's notes.

- This Code section formerly pertained to the compilation, maintenance, and revision of jury lists. The former Code section was based on Ga. L. 1878-79, p. 27, § 2; Ga. L. 1878-79, p. 34, § 1; Ga. L. 1880-81, p. 124, § 1; Code 1882, §§ 3910b, 3910d; Ga. L. 1887, p. 31, § 1; Ga. L. 1892, p. 61, § 1; Penal Code 1895, §§ 815, 818; Ga. L. 1897, p. 40, § 1; Ga. L. 1899, p. 44, § 1; Penal Code 1910, §§ 816, 819; Code 1933, § 59-106; Ga. L. 1953, Nov.-Dec. Sess., p. 284, § 1; Ga. L. 1955, p. 247, § 1; Ga. L. 1967, p. 251, § 1; Ga. L. 1968, p. 533, § 1; Ga. L. 1973, p. 484, § 1; Ga. L. 1976, p. 438, § 1; Ga. L. 1978, p. 1611, § 1; Ga. L. 1979, p. 3, § 1; Ga. L. 1985, p. 149, § 15; Ga. L. 1985, p. 1511, § 2; Ga. L. 1987, p. 953, § 1; Ga. L. 1987, p. 1575, § 1; Ga. L. 1988, p. 13, § 15; Ga. L. 1989, p. 427, § 1; Ga. L. 1995, p. 1292, § 4; Ga. L. 1999, p. 890, § 1; Ga. 2001, Ex. Sess., p. 318, §§ 1-1, 2-1; Ga. L. 2005, p. 334, § 5-3/HB 501; Ga. L. 2006, p. 897, § 1/HB 1417; Ga. L. 2011, p. 59, § 1-15/HB 415 and was repealed by its own terms effective July 1, 2012.

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Editor's notes.

- In light of the similarity of the statutory provisions, annotations decided under former Code 1933, § 59-106 and former Code Section 15-12-40 are included in the annotations under this Code section.

Fourteenth Amendment protects all citizens.

- United States Const., amend. 14 protects all and not some citizens as to discrimination in jury selection. Simmons v. Jones, 317 F. Supp. 397 (S.D. Ga. 1970), rev'd on other grounds, 478 F.2d 321 (5th Cir. 1973) (decided under former Code 1933, § 59-106).

Jury service is a duty rather than a right.

- Jury service is not a right or privilege but is a burden which the state summons certain of the state's citizens to bear. Simmons v. Jones, 317 F. Supp. 397 (S.D. Ga. 1970), rev'd on other grounds, 478 F.2d 321 (5th Cir. 1973) (decided under former Code 1933, § 59-106).

Presumption that jurors able to correctly analyze facts.

- Jurors are expected to bring into the box not only uprightness, but also intelligence, and there ought to be a presumption that jurors, through the use of the intelligence which the jurors are required to have in order to be qualified to be jurors, are able to correctly analyze the evidence and determine the facts, shown by such evidence, to have occurred. Purcell v. Hill, 111 Ga. App. 256, 141 S.E.2d 153 (1965) (decided under former Code 1933, § 59-106).

Competency of juror.

- Defendant did not show that juror was incompetent to serve merely because the juror gave an incoherent answer the first time the juror was polled about the defendant's verdict; thus, denial of the defendant's motion for a new trial was proper. Creed v. State, 255 Ga. App. 425, 565 S.E.2d 480 (2002) (decided under former O.C.G.A. § 15-12-40).

Cited in Ellington v. State, 292 Ga. 109, 735 S.E.2d 736 (2012).

Cases Citing O.C.G.A. § 15-12-40

Total Results: 20  |  Sort by: Relevance  |  Newest First

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Willis v. State, 820 S.E.2d 640 (Ga. 2018).

Cited 112 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Oct 22, 2018 | 304 Ga. 686

...e "abandoned"). c. Willis argues that the trial court erred by rejecting his claim alleging that Fulton County failed to incorporate both voter registration and driver services records in its jury lists as required by the former version of *652OCGA § 15-12-40....
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Al-Amin v. State, 597 S.E.2d 332 (Ga. 2004).

Cited 77 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | May 24, 2004 | 278 Ga. 74, 2004 Fulton County D. Rep. 1717

...names of potential grand jurors from the voter registration list based on race, gender, and age in order to comply with the five percentage point requirements of UAP II(E). The statutory procedures for creating the grand jury list are found at OCGA § 15-12-40, et seq....
...uded that the evidence presented failed to demonstrate this group was systematically excluded from the jury pool. We find no error. Morrow, supra at 692(1); Smith, supra at 716(1). 5. Al-Amin claims that the statutory exclusion of non-citizens, OCGA § 15-12-40.1, reduced the Hispanic/Latino population in Fulton County and thus violated his fair cross-section rights under the Sixth Amendment. A potential juror must be a citizen of the United States in order to serve. OCGA § 15-12-40.1....
...persons and a substantial over-representation of Caucasian persons, in violation of the Sixth Amendment and the UAP requirements. [7] As shown previously, prior to July 1, 2000, voter lists were appropriate sources for potential jurors. Former OCGA § 15-12-40(a)....
..."no significant under-representation," and to correct any such under-representation. Under UAP II(E), the difference in those percentages must be less than five percentage points. See Ramirez v. State, 276 Ga. 158(3), 575 S.E.2d 462 (2003). [5] OCGA § 15-12-40(a) was revised effective July 1, 2000, requiring jury commissioners to make use of lists of county residents who are holders of drivers' licenses, personal identification cards issued by the Department of Public Safety, registered voters...
...te, in compiling revisions to the grand jury and trial jury lists. At the time of Al-Amin's indictment on March 28, 2000, jury commissioners were only to look to the voter registration list in the county in composing the grand jury list, former OCGA § 15-12-40(a)....
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Bryant v. State, 708 S.E.2d 362 (Ga. 2011).

Cited 70 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Mar 18, 2011 | 288 Ga. 876, 2011 Fulton County D. Rep. 794

...d jury source list. Rather, he claims that African-American persons who were age 55 years old or older and Hispanic persons were under-represented in the composition of the grand jury pool in violation of the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments and OCGA § 15-12-40 as a result of the county's forced balancing system....
...Bryant has the burden of proving a prima facie case of constitutional error in the composition of the grand jury pool. See Morrow v. State, 272 Ga. 691, 693(1), 532 S.E.2d 78 (2000). In order to prove a prima facie jury pool composition violation under either the Sixth Amendment, the Fourteenth Amendment, or OCGA § 15-12-40, Bryant was required to show that the allegedly excluded group was a cognizable group in the community and that such persons were actually under-represented....
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Ellington v. State, 292 Ga. 109 (Ga. 2012).

Cited 61 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Nov 19, 2012 | 735 S.E.2d 736, 2012 Fulton County D. Rep. 3623

...a conviction where the under-representation of a cognizable group in a grand jury pool does not rise to the level of a constitutional violation); Ramirez, 276 Ga. at 161 (noting that grand jury composition challenges under the former version of OCGA § 15-12-40 are subject to “standards comparable if not identical to federal constitutional standards”); Morrow v....
...The case was docketed for the April 2012 term of this Court, and the case was orally argued on July 9, 2012. The Jury Composition Act of 2011, Ga. L. 2011, pp. 69-70, § 1-16, replaced the forced balancing approach with a new system for creating grand and traverse jury pools, which took effect on July 1,2012. See also OCGA § 15-12-40.1 (as amended in 2011); UAPII (C) (6), (E) (as amended in 2012). We assume for purposes of this division that Hispanic persons were a cognizable group....
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Humphrey v. Morrow, 717 S.E.2d 168 (Ga. 2011).

Cited 34 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Oct 17, 2011 | 289 Ga. 864, 2011 Fulton County D. Rep. 3180

...Accordingly, we refuse to disturb Morrow's convictions and order Morrow's death sentence reinstated. III. Remaining Cross-Appeal Claims A. Compositions of the Grand and Traverse Juries Morrow claims that the compositions of his grand and traverse juries were unconstitutional and violated OCGA § 15-12-40 because Hispanic persons were under-represented on the lists from which those juries were drawn....
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Grant v. State, 824 S.E.2d 255 (Ga. 2019).

Cited 17 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Feb 18, 2019 | 305 Ga. 170

...2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979). 2. Grant argues that he was denied a fair trial because the jury array was selected in a manner that deprived him of a fair cross-section of the community as required by the Sixth Amendment, **172Fourteenth Amendment2 , and OCGA § 15-12-40.1.3 We disagree. To challenge the composition of a randomly selected jury array, a defendant must prove that "persons [were] ......
...August 31, 2017. Grant timely filed a notice of appeal on September 22, 2017. His appeal was docketed in this Court for the August 2018 term and submitted for decision on the briefs. To the extent that Grant challenges the constitutionality of OCGA § 15-12-40.1, the argument is not preserved for appeal....
...too late to raise such [a] question after a guilty verdict has been returned by the jury.' " Kolokouris v. State, 271 Ga. 597, 597 (1), 523 S.E.2d 311 (1999). Below, Grant challenged the sufficiency of the array but not the constitutionality of OCGA § 15-12-40.1. As such, this issue was waived for appeal and will not be considered here. In making his statutory claim, Appellant cites former OCGA § 15-12-40 in his brief. OCGA § 15-12-40 was no longer in effect at the time of Grant's November 2012 trial and does not apply to this case. It was displaced by OCGA § 15-12-40.1 on July 1, 2012. We analyze Appellant's claim as though he brought it under OCGA § 15-12-40.1. Although Brown is a new Evidence Code case and relies upon OCGA § 24-6-620, former OCGA § 24-9-80 was carried forward with only minor revisions in the new Evidence Code, and there is no materially identical Federal Rule of Evidence on this matter....
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Ricks v. State, 301 Ga. 171 (Ga. 2017).

Cited 17 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | May 15, 2017 | 800 S.E.2d 307

...This Court adopted the Jury Composition Rule (“the Rule”) to effectuate the Jury Composition Reform Act of 2011 (“the Act”), Ga. L. 2011, p. 59. The Act was the product of a seven-year effort by this Court’s Jury Composition Committee, led by then-Justice Hugh R Thompson, to develop recommended changes to OCGA § 15-12-40.1, related statutes, and the Unified Appeal Procedure used in death penalty cases in order to provide a modern method of preparing the lists from which local courts select grand juries and trial juries....
...opulation. To this end, the Act gave centralized responsibility for preparing each county’s master jury list to the Council of Superior Court Clerks (“the Clerks Council”). See Ga. L. 2011, p. 59, §§ 1-5, 1-16 (amending OCGA §§ 15-12-1 and 15-12-40.1)....
...The Clerks Council is required to provide each county with a “county master jury list” on July 1 of each year, and each county’s jury clerk is directed to “choose a random list of persons from the county master jury list to comprise the venire” for each case to be tried. Id. § 1-16 (codified as amended as OCGA § 15-12-40.1 (d), (g)). For use in compiling these lists of potential jurors, the Act directs the Clerks Council to obtain voter registration records from the Secretary of State and driver’s license and identification card records from the Depart...
...on individuals who are ineligible for jury service, including certain records regarding mentally incom*174petent persons and convicted felons who have not had their civil rights restored. See Ga. L. 2011, p. 59, § 1-16 (codified as amended as OCGA § 15-12-40.1 (b), (c)). In 2014, the Act was amended to adjust and supplement the sources of information on eligible and ineligible jurors, including adding records of deaths and of persons who are not citizens. See Ga. L. 2014, p. 451, § 8 (amending OCGA § 15-12-40.1 (b), (c), (e), and (f))....
...The result of this elaborate, multi-step process is a “Statewide Master Jury List” and “County Master Jury Lists” for all 159 counties. Each county receives its county master jury list annually on July 1 for use to select venires pursuant to OCGA § 15-12-40.1 (g). The Evidence Presen ted in the Trial Court 3....
...etailed algorithm provided in the Rule; and detection of unusable or changed addresses through the National Change of Address database.6 However, rather than choosing venires from the county master jury list that the Clerks Council provides, as OCGA § 15-12-40.1 (g) directs, Fulton County produces its own jury list using a complicated process developed by its vendor based on outdated guidelines set forth in a local jury management order issued by the chief judge of the Superior Court of Fulton...
...master lists with historical legacy data files.” The trial court again concluded that Ricks had failed to show any violation of the Rule (or any constitutional violation). Analysis 5. As explained in more detail in Divisions 1 and 2 above, OCGA § 15-12-40.1 (d) and the Jury Composition Rule issued by this Court direct that the Clerks Council is responsible for providing each county in Georgia with a county master jury list every July 1 that is developed from DDS and voter registration reco...
...nformation that those clerks gather year by year as a result of using the Council’s county master jury lists. We understand the specific delegation of this duty to the Clerks Council to preclude counties from exercising the same authority See OCGA § 15-12-40.1 (d), (g) (“[Ejach [county jury] clerk shall obtain its county master jury list from the council.......
...Attaway Burton, Deputy Attorney General, for appellee. Directions on Remand 6. On remand, the trial court is directed to ensure that the prospective jurors for Ricks’s trial are drawn from a list that is produced and managed in a manner that complies with OCGA § 15-12-40.1 and with the Jury Composition Rule as we have explained it above....
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Green v. State, 295 Ga. 108 (Ga. 2014).

Cited 16 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Apr 22, 2014 | 757 S.E.2d 856, 2014 Fulton County D. Rep. 1172

...preconception of Green’s innocence or guilt or of any bias toward him.5 3 Green does not claim that had Juror given more accurate responses, he would have had to be excused for principal cause for having been convicted of a felony. See OCGA §§ 15-12-40; 15- 12-163 (b) (5)....
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Williams v. State, 699 S.E.2d 25 (Ga. 2010).

Cited 15 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Jun 28, 2010 | 287 Ga. 735, 2010 Fulton County D. Rep. 2128

...That under-representation had resulted, *27 as in appellant's case, from demographic changes that had occurred since the last Decennial Census. We considered Ramirez's claim under the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, under the fair cross-section guarantee of the Sixth Amendment, and under OCGA § 15-12-40, and we found no error....
...ross-section guarantee of the Sixth Amendment applies to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment. See Ramirez v. State, supra, 276 Ga. at 161(1)(c), 575 S.E.2d 462. This Court has further held that a fair cross-section is also guaranteed by OCGA § 15-12-40 under standards "comparable if not identical" to Sixth Amendment standards....
...the jury composition should be vacated and this case should be remanded for further proceedings. Therefore, I respectfully dissent from the majority's opinion. The record shows that, in support of his Sixth Amendment, Fourteenth Amendment, and OCGA § 15-12-40 claims, Williams provided expert testimony based on 2007 Census Bureau population estimates for Clayton County derived from the U.S....
...solute disparity of over 10% is probably unconstitutional." Id. at 692, 532 S.E.2d 78. See also West v. State, 252 Ga. 156, 157(1), 313 S.E.2d 67 (1984) (17% absolute disparity for females in jury pool from females in county population violates OCGA § 15-12-40)....
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Foster v. State, 701 S.E.2d 189 (Ga. 2010).

Cited 11 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Nov 1, 2010 | 288 Ga. 98, 2010 Fulton County D. Rep. 3491

...-resident of Clayton County appeared on the 2007 traverse jury list. (d) Foster contends that Hispanic persons were misrepresented in the composition of the grand and traverse jury pools, in violation of the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments, and OCGA § 15-12-40....
...565, 571(11), 340 S.E.2d 843 (1986) (holding that, in general, absolute disparities under ten percent satisfy constitutional requirements)." Humphreys, supra at 69(3)(b)(i), 694 S.E.2d 316. The failure to show any such misrepresentation is also fatal to Foster's claim under OCGA § 15-12-40....
...his discretion, for cause and appoint successors. However, no person who has served for more than three years as a jury commissioner shall be eligible or shall be appointed to succeed himself as a member of the board of jury commissioners. [4] OCGA § 15-12-40 reads: (a) Nonmechanical procedure....
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Sharp v. State, 602 S.E.2d 591 (Ga. 2004).

Cited 9 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Sep 13, 2004 | 278 Ga. 352, 2004 Fulton County D. Rep. 2976

...y erroneous. Washington v. State, 276 Ga. 655(3), 581 S.E.2d 518 (2003). In this case, we find neither deficient performance nor prejudice. Sharp does not argue that the State failed to randomly select the jury panels as required by law. See OCGA § § 15-12-40(b), 15-12-42(b)....
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Rice v. State, 635 S.E.2d 707 (Ga. 2006).

Cited 7 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Oct 2, 2006 | 281 Ga. 149, 2006 Fulton County D. Rep. 3023

...erse jury will be drawn are unconstitutional because they under-represent Hispanic persons. Such jury composition claims, whether based on the Fourteenth Amendment's equal protection clause, the Sixth Amendment's fair cross-section requirement, OCGA § 15-12-40, or the Unified Appeal Procedure, require both a showing that the group which allegedly is under-represented is a distinctive, cognizable group in the community and a showing of actual under-representation....
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Sinkfield v. State, 858 S.E.2d 703 (Ga. 2021).

Cited 4 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | May 17, 2021 | 311 Ga. 524

...consistent methodology that produces lists of eligible jurors that are updated annually for each county and more accurately reflect each county’s jury-eligible population.” Ricks v. State, 301 Ga. 171, 173 (800 SE2d 307) (2017).5 See also OCGA § 15-12-40.1....
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Keever v. Dellinger, 291 Ga. 860 (Ga. 2012).

Cited 4 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Nov 5, 2012 | 734 S.E.2d 874, 2012 Fulton County D. Rep. 3430

...Finally, Keever argues that he is entitled to a new trial because one of the jurors was a convicted felon. Specifically, Keever argues that his due process rights were violated because the county board of jury commissioners failed to remove that particular juror from the trial jury list in accordance with former OCGA § 15-12-40.2, which was in force at the time of the adverse possession trial.2 OCGA § 15-12-40.2, itself, did not prohibit a convicted felon from sitting as a trial juror, and, at the time of the trial in this case, there was no statute expressly prohibiting such jury service by someone who had been convicted of a felony.3 Applicab...
...Cox, Byington, Corwin & Twyman, Christopher P. Twyman, for appellant. White, Choate, Watkins & Mroczko, Harry B. White, for appellee. Judgment affirmed. All the Justices concur, except Benham, J., who is not participating. Apparently, Cabe became ill after the trial began. OCGA § 15-12-40.2 has been repealed, effective July 1, 2012. At the time of the adverse possession trial, there was a statutory prohibition against convicted felons sitting as members of a grand jury, OCGA § 15-12-60, but not a trial jury. Effective July 1, 2012, OCGA § 15-12-40 now provides: “Any person who has been convicted of a felony in a state or federal court who has not hadhisorher civil rights restored and any p erson who has been judicially determined to be mentally incompetent shall not be eligible t...
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State v. Parlor, 642 S.E.2d 54 (Ga. 2007).

Cited 4 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Feb 26, 2007 | 281 Ga. 820, 2007 Fulton County D. Rep. 496

...For the reasons that follow, we reverse. Parlor was indicted on April 29, 2004. He filed a motion to quash the indictment, contending that the grand jury was not legally constituted. The trial court granted the motion, finding that the requirements of OCGA § 15-12-40(a)(1) concerning revision of the grand jury list had not been met, and the grand jury was thus not legally constituted. OCGA § 15-12-40(a)(1) sets forth that: At least biennially, unless otherwise directed by the chief judge of the superior court, the board of jury commissioners shall compile, maintain, and revise a trial jury list of upright and intelligent citizens of t...
...rand jurors. It is undisputed that the last revision of the jury list before Parlor's 2004 indictment was completed on October 9, 2000, and that the indictment was returned by grand jurors selected from that list. In addressing the precursor to OCGA § 15-12-40, this Court has said that: the provisions of Code § 59-106 are directory only and, therefore, the failure to revise the jury list in accordance with the timetable set forth in Code § 59-106 does not invalidate the jury list or deprive the defendant of any right to which he is entitled....
...74, 80(7), 597 S.E.2d 332 (2004); Sealey v. State, 277 Ga. 617, 618-19(2), 593 S.E.2d 335 (2004); Florence v. State, 243 Ga. 738, 740-741(3), 256 S.E.2d 467 (1979); Mooney v. State, 243 Ga. 373, 394-395(7), 254 S.E.2d 337 (1979). Accordingly, failure to comply with the strictures of OCGA § 15-12-40(a)(1) "will not afford cause for quashing the indictment." Haden, supra at 305(1), 168 S.E. 272. Nonetheless, Parlor contends that the wording of OCGA § 15-12-40(a)(1) that the jury list "shall" be updated at least biennially makes that task mandatory for the board of jury commissioners, rather than directory....
...we remain convinced that the provision is directory. See Sealey, supra. Parlor also asserts that this Court's precedents are not controlling because some cases deal with challenges to the petit jury list due to failure to meet the strictures of OCGA § 15-12-40, when the current challenge is to the grand jury list....
...culations necessary to ensure that there was no such disparity. See U.A.P. II(E). In any event, the trial court's decision to quash the indictment was based solely on the failure to revise the grand jury list during the time period set forth in OCGA § 15-12-40(a)(1).
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Brock v. State, 906 S.E.2d 739 (Ga. 2024).

Cited 3 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Sep 17, 2024 | 319 Ga. 765

...And lastly, Appellant argues that the Paulding County Superior Court Clerk’s Office used an out- of-date list to summon jurors for his trial, and that the use of this list violated the Paulding County Standing Order on Jury Management, Jury Composition Rule 6 (“JCR 6”), OCGA § 15-12-40.1,2 and his right to an impartial jury and due process under the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution. For the reasons explained below, we affirm. 2 While Appellant inconsistently cites both OCGA § 15-12-40 and OCGA § 15-12-40.1 in his brief, it is clear in context that Appellant is only arguing that OCGA § 15-12-40.1 was violated and not OCGA § 15-12-40. See OCGA § 15-12-40 (providing that convicted felons and mentally incompetent persons are ineligible to serve as jurors). 2 1....
...should not be misunderstood as approval of the prosecutor’s statement. 18 2022, rather than the 2022 Master Jury List. Appellant claims that this putative error violated the trial court’s Standing Order on Jury Management, JCR 6, OCGA § 15-12-40.1, and his right to an impartial jury and due process under the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution. For the reasons explained below, we disagree. The composition, dissemination, and use of master jury lists is governed chiefly by OCGA § 15-12-40.1 and the JCR promulgated by this Court pursuant thereto. See Ricks v. State, 301 Ga. 171, 173- 178 (1)-(2) (800 SE2d 307) (2017) (describing the Jury Composition Reform Act, Ga. L. 2011, p. 59, which includes OCGA § 15-12-40.1, and explaining the then-current version of the JCR); OCGA § 15-12-40.1 (i) (authorizing this Court to “establish, by rules, reasonable standards for the preparation, dissemination, and technological improvements of the state-wide master jury list and county master jury lists”). As relevant here, OCGA § 15-12-40.1 requires the Council of Superior Court Clerks to compile a state- wide master jury list, and, from this list, to “disseminate . . . a county 19 master jury list” to county clerks on July 1 of each year. OCGA § 15-12-40.1 (a), (d). The statute further specifies that the clerk in each county “shall choose a random list of persons from the county master jury list to comprise the venire.” OCGA § 15-12-40.1 (h). JCR 6, in turn, governs the time by which annual county master lists must be used by county clerks....
...A new county master list shall be used by the clerk to summon jurors by the later of: i. [t]hree months after list certification, or ii. [t]he first summoning of jurors after list certification. In addition to OCGA § 15-12-40.1 and the JCR, the Superior Court of Paulding County issued a Standing Order on Jury Management, dated August 11, 2017....
...We review the trial court’s factual findings for clear error and independently apply the law to the facts. See Smith v. State, 275 Ga. 715, 720 (4) (571 SE2d 740) (2002). Appellant argues that the Clerk’s Office’s use of the 2021 Master Jury List to summon jurors for his trial violated OCGA § 15-12-40.1 and JCR 6, but this claim fails....
...List for other trials until August 2023, Appellant’s trial was not among those that used the 2021 Master Jury List past the deadline set by the JCR. Further, Appellant’s jurors were chosen from “a random list of persons from the [2021 Master Jury List]” as required by OCGA § 15-12-40.1 (h). For these reasons, the Clerk’s Office did not violate JCR 6 or OCGA § 15-12-40.1, and the trial court did not err by denying these claims. Notwithstanding the Clerk’s Office’s compliance with JCR 6, 23 Appellant argues that the Clerk’s Office failed to comply with the...
...equires the Clerk’s Office to begin using new county jury lists on July 1 of each year. Because the Clerk’s Office failed to do so, Appellant claims, he is entitled to a new trial. But while Appellant cites authority that a violation of OCGA § 15-12-40.1 or the JCR may require reversal, he cites no authority that a violation of a local standing order that is more restrictive than the JCR mandates any particular remedy. Turning to his constitutional arguments, Appellant fails to...
...While Appellant points to cases showing that he is entitled to a fair and impartial jury under the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution as a general matter, he does not provide any authority suggesting he was entitled to the use of a particular jury list other than the one provided for by OCGA § 15-12-40.1 and JCR 6....
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State v. Towns, 307 Ga. 351 (Ga. 2019).

Cited 3 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Oct 21, 2019

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Willis v. State, 304 Ga. 686 (Ga. 2018).

Cited 1 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Oct 22, 2018

...“abandoned”). (c) Willis argues that the trial court erred by rejecting his claim alleging that Fulton County failed to incorporate both voter registration and driver services records in its jury lists as required by the former version of OCGA § 15-12-40....

State v. Embert (Ga. 2025).

Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Jun 10, 2025

...The jury found Embert guilty on all counts,2 but over three years later, her post-conviction counsel discovered that, unbeknownst to either the State or the defense, one of the jurors at her trial was a convicted felon (the “Juror”), rendering him ineligible for jury service under OCGA § 15-12-40....
...3 “Any person who has been convicted of a felony in a state or federal court who has not had his or her civil rights restored and any person who has been judicially determined to be mentally incompetent shall not be eligible to serve as a trial juror.” OCGA § 15-12-40. 2 void as well....
...was “legally qualified.” (a) Order on Motion for New Trial: Following the motion hearing, the trial court granted Embert’s amended motion for new trial on February 14, 2024, finding that the Juror was prohibited from serving on Embert’s jury under OCGA § 15-12-40 based on his two prior convictions for terroristic threats and that Embert raised this issue at the earliest opportunity after learning of it. 9 The trial court noted that although OCGA § 15-12-40 is silent as to the remedy when a convicted felon serves on the jury, it determined that 9 The trial court found in its order granting the new trial that the Juror’s completed jury questionnaire “was never attached to the d...
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Grant v. State, 305 Ga. 170 (Ga. 2019).

Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Feb 18, 2019

...Grant argues that he was denied a fair trial because the jury array was selected in a manner that deprived him of a fair cross-section of the community as required by the Sixth Amendment, Fourteenth Amendment,2 and OCGA § 15- 2 To the extent that Grant challenges the constitutionality of OCGA § 15-12-40.1, the argument is not preserved for appeal....
...Grant argues that this lack of information shows that the composition of the array amounted to “discrimination by random process,” and that the State failed to show a fair cross-section. Grant misunderstands the array but not the constitutionality of OCGA § 15-12-40.1. As such, this issue was waived for appeal and will not be considered here. 3 In making his statutory claim, Appellant cites former OCGA § 15-12-40 in his brief. OCGA § 15-12-40 was no longer in effect at the time of Grant’s November 2012 trial and does not apply to this case. It was displaced by OCGA § 15-12-40.1 on July 1, 2012. We analyze Appellant’s claim as though he brought it under OCGA § 15-12-40.1. 4 burden of proof — he, not the State, bears the burden of proof on this issue. Jackson, 294 Ga....