Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1861, all litigants “have the right to grand and petit jurors selected at random from a fair cross section of the community.” A new master jury wheel is created every two years by selecting names at random from the list of general election registered voters from all counties within the relevant division. Names are then randomly drawn periodically from the master jury wheel to receive juror qualification questionnaires and summonses to report for grand or petit jury service.
Individuals’ answers to these questionnaires determine whether individuals are legally qualified and available to serve on either a petit or a grand jury. All qualified individuals are then expected to report for jury service pursuant to the Court’s instructions. All other individuals are notified not to report or have their service postponed to a later time.
All of the selections are carried out through an electronic data processing system to ensure a truly randomized selection from across the potential jury pool.