A county commissioners court may adopt an electronic or mechanical jury-selection plan if the district and criminal district judges recommend it, and the plan must meet listed requirements.
Sec. 62.011. ELECTRONIC OR MECHANICAL METHOD OF SELECTION. (a) On the recommendation of a majority of the district and criminal district judges of a county, the commissioners court, by order entered in its minutes, may adopt a plan for the selection of names of persons for jury service with the aid of electronic or mechanical equipment instead of drawing the names from a jury wheel. (b) A plan authorized by this section for the selection of names of prospective jurors must: (1) be proposed in writing to the commissioners court by a majority of the district and criminal district judges of the county at a meeting of the judges called for that purpose; (2) specify that the source of names of persons for jury service is the same as that provided by Section 62.001 and that the names of persons listed in a register of persons exempt from jury service may not be used in preparing the record of names from which a jury list is selected, as provided by Sections 62.108 and 62.109; (3) provide a fair, impartial, and objective method of selecting names of persons for jury service with the aid of electronic or mechanical equipment; (4) designate the district clerk, or in a county with a population of at least 1.7 million and in which more than 70 percent of the population resides in a single municipality, a bailiff appointed as provided under Section 62.019, as the officer in charge of the selection process and define the officer's duties; and (5) provide that the method of selection either will use the same record of names for the selection of persons for jury service until that record is exhausted or will use the same record of names for a period of time specified by the plan. (c) The provisions of this subchapter relating to the selection of names of persons for jury service by the use of a jury wheel do not apply in a county that adopts a plan authorized by this section for the selection of names of prospective jurors by the use of electronic or mechanical equipment. (d) A state agency or the secretary of state may not charge a fee for furnishing a list of names required by Section 62.001. Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 480, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1985. Amended by Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 132, Sec. 3, 4, eff. Sept. 1, 1989; Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 442, Sec. 2, eff. Jan. 1, 1992; Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 677, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995. Amended by: Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 609 (S.B. 681), Sec. 2, eff. June 16, 2015. Acts 2023, 88th Leg., R.S., Ch. 644 (H.B. 4559), Sec. 39, eff. September 1, 2023.