§612-17 Trial jury, first circuit. (a) In the first circuit, and in any other circuit in which the court so orders, this section shall be applicable to the drawing of a trial jury and service thereon.

(b) Not later than January 1 of each year, the clerk shall draw at random from the names on the certified list of trial jurors such number of trial jurors as is deemed sufficient for the ensuing year. When directed by the court, additional jurors shall be drawn. The names and juror qualification forms for the prospective jurors shall be secured in envelopes. The envelopes shall remain secured and in the custody of the clerk.

(c) Whenever a judge requires the services of a trial jury for use in proceedings before the judge or any other judge of the circuit, the judge may order the required number of jurors from the clerk. Upon receipt by the judge of the envelopes containing the juror qualification forms, they shall be made available to the litigants concerned; provided that the jurors’ social security number, driver’s license number and home and business telephone numbers are first redacted. Litigants and their attorneys shall not further divulge the forms or the contents of the forms except when questioning prospective jurors in conjunction with the juror selection process.

(d) Any number of jurors ordered by a judge may be required to attend and serve. The names of those summoned and present, and not disqualified, excused or exempted, shall be placed in an appropriate container, from which there shall be drawn a sufficient number of names to constitute a trial jury. The drawing shall be by lot in open court under the supervision of the judge. There is no requirement that all names ordered by a judge be exhausted before other names may be used in the drawing, and the names of jurors which have been transmitted to the judge may be mixed with each other in the container during the drawing. If a jury cannot be chosen for the trial of a case from the names placed in the container before the drawing commenced, additional names may be placed in the container. For this purpose additional names may be ordered and the prospective jurors summoned. The judge may summon jurors from among bystanders on consent of all parties.

(e) Prospective jurors in attendance but not actually serving in a trial before the judge shall be subject to such orders relative to further jury service as the judge deems appropriate, including service before other judges in the circuit.

(f) Each juror ordered by a judge shall serve for a period of one day, commencing from the first day the juror is required to appear for service; provided that any juror may be required to serve beyond the one-day period for the trial of any case in which the selection of the jury commenced within that period. Upon completion of service by all jurors ordered by the judge to serve, the jurors shall be returned to the clerk, who shall not transmit the jurors again to any judge until all other jurors have been exhausted and other jurors which served at a more remote time have been first transmitted for service.

(g) A judge may, having regard to the equitable distribution of jury service, excuse any juror after actual service in a trial. [L 1973, c 191, pt of §1; am L 1975, c 48, §2; gen ch 1985; am L 1987, c 366, §10; am L 1993, c 159, §§2, 3; am L 2002, c 92, §5]