(A) Persons liable to service. All persons who are at least 18 years of age and who are citizens of this city, shall be liable to serve as municipal jurors, except as hereinafter provided.
(B) Exemptions and disqualifications. The Police Judge may, in his or her discretion, exempt or excuse any person from jury service when it appears that such service would be improper or work an undue hardship. The following persons shall be disqualified from serving as jurors: idiots; lunatics; paupers; vagabonds; habitual drunkards; and persons convicted of infamous crimes. Any person over the age of 65 years of age shall, upon written request of the Judge, be excused from jury service.
(C) Jury Commissioners.
(1) There shall be two Jury Commissioners of the Court. They shall be citizens of good standing and residents in the city. The Chairperson of a political party shall be ineligible for appointment.
(2) Jury Commissioners shall be appointed by the Police Judge. The terms of office shall be four years and shall commence upon appointments.
(3) Jury Commissioners may be removed from office by the Police Judge for official misconduct, incompetency, habitual drunkenness, neglect of duty or gross immorality. Vacancies caused by death, resignation or otherwise shall be filled for the unexpired term in the same manner as the original appointments.
(4) Jury Commissioners shall receive as compensation for their services, while necessarily employed, an amount to be fixed by the Police Judge, which amount shall not exceed $50 per day of actual service, which shall be payable out of the city treasury upon orders of the Police Judge.
(5) Before entering upon the discharge of his or her duties, a Jury Commissioner shall take and subscribe, before the Clerk of the Court, who is hereby authorized to administer the same, an oath, to be filed and preserved by him or her in his or her office, to the following effect:
State of West Virginia County of Greenbrier, to-wit:
I, ___________________, do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of this state and will faithfully discharge the duties of Jury Commissioner to the best of my skill and judgment, and that I will not place any person upon the jury list in violation of law, or out of fear, favor or affection.
(D) Preparation of jury list. The Jury Commissioners shall annually, at such time as may be designated by order of the Court, prepare a list of such inhabitants of the city, not exempted or disqualified by law as aforesaid, as they shall think well qualified to serve as jurors, being persons of sound judgment, of good character and free from legal exception, which list shall include not less than 100 nor more than 400 persons. The name of no person shall be put on such list who shall have been drawn and who actually served as a petit juror in any court of record within a period of two years prior thereto, or who shall have requested the Jury Commissioners or either of them, by himself, herself or another person, to have his or her name placed on such list; and any such person shall be disqualified from serving as a juror for the period of two years from the date of such service or from the time making such request.
(E) Custody; striking off names. The list so prepared shall be delivered to the Clerk of Court. It shall be subject to inspection only by the Court, the Jury Commissioners or the Clerk of the Court, as hereinafter prescribed. Such Court, or the Jury Commissioners, may strike from such list the name of any person who has been convicted of any scandalous offense or has been guilty of any gross immorality, and substitute another in his or her place.
(F) Preparation and custody of ballots. At the time such list is made out, the Jury Commissioners shall also cause all the names upon the same to be fairly written, each on a separate paper or ballot, and shall fold or roll up the ballots so as to resemble each other as nearly as may be and so that the name written thereon shall not be visible on the outside, and shall deposit the ballots in a secure box, to be prepared for the purpose, which shall be known as the “jury box” and which shall be safely kept by the Clerk of the Court, and shall be opened only by the order of the Jury Commissioners or as hereinafter prescribed.
(G) Selection of trial jurors. All jurors required for the trial of cases in the Court shall be selected by drawing ballots from the jury box in the manner prescribed in this section, and the persons whose names are written on the ballots so drawn shall be returned to serve as jurors.
(H) Issuance of venire facias; number of jurors summoned. The Clerk of the Court, at the discretion of the Police Judge, shall, at least 15 days before any jury may be wanted, issue a venire facias for 30 jurors, unless the Court shall order a greater or lessor number, in which event the writ shall issue for such other number. Such writ shall require the attendance of the jurors on such day as the Police Judge may order.
(I) Summons to Jury Commissioners. The jurors chosen in accordance with division (H) above shall be chosen by the Jury Commissioners. The Clerk of the Court shall issue a summons requiring the Jury Commissioners to attend at the office of the Clerk of the Court on a day named in such summons, which shall be not less than five days after the issuance of such summons, for the purpose of drawing the ballots for the number of jurors mentioned in such writ.
(J) Drawing of jurors’ names; preparation of list. The writ of venire facias and summons shall be delivered to the Chief of Police, or other officer acting in lieu of the Chief, who shall serve the summons on the Jury Commissioners, and it shall be the duty of the Jury Commissioners to attend on the day designated in the summons at the office of the Clerk of the Court and, in the presence of the Clerk, to draw the proper number of jurors’ names from the jury box, and to make a list thereof to be delivered to the officers serving the summons.
(K) Special Jury Commissioners; delivery of list; summoning of jurors.
(1) If either or both of the Jury Commissioners fail to attend as required by such summons, the Clerk of the Court shall appoint a Special Jury Commissioner or Commissioners, having the qualifications herein required, to act in his, her or their place and stead for the time being, and such jurors shall be drawn by such Commissioners; and it shall be the duty of the Clerk of the Court to place the list thereof in the hands of the Chief of Police or other officer authorized to summons them. It shall be the duty of such officer, at least three days before the time when the jurors are required to attend, to summons each person who is drawn to attend the sitting of the Court at the time and place mentioned in the writ, and make due return thereof, and of the summons aforesaid, to such Court at the opening thereof.
(2) In addition to any other method provided by law, any person named in the writs of venire facias or a summons for jurors, by direction of the Court, may be served by the Chief of Police mailing a copy thereof to such person commanding him or her to attend as a juror at a time and place designated therein, which copy shall be registered or certified and deposited in the post office, addressed to such person at his or her usual post office address. The personal receipt of the person so addressed for such registered or certified copy shall be regarded as personal service of such writ or summons upon such person.
(L) Method of drawing ballots from box; destruction of ballots. When jurors’ names are to be drawn as aforesaid, the ballots in the jury box shall be shaken and mixed together by one of the Jury Commissioners and the other Jury Commissioner shall openly draw therefrom as many ballots (without inspecting the names written on any until the proper number is drawn) as shall be equal to the number of jurors required; and if any person whose name is so drawn is unable by reason of sickness, absence from home or other cause to attend as a juror, his or her name shall, at the conclusion of such draft, be returned into the box; or if he or she be exempted by law or his or her name has been stricken from the jury list, the ballot shall be destroyed and another shall be drawn in its stead.
(M) Endorsement on and custody of ballots drawn. When any person is drawn and returned to serve as aforesaid, the Jury Commissioners shall cause to be enforced on the ballot containing his or her name the word “drawn”, and shall cause it to be placed in another box to be kept for the purpose of custody of the Clerk of the Court, and opened only as hereinafter prescribed; and the date of the draft shall be entered on the list of jurors opposite the name of the person so drawn.
(N) When ballots to be returned to jury box. When all the ballots in the jury box have been destroyed or placed in the box for the ballots, marked “drawn”, except such as contain the names of those who, for the reasons aforesaid, are unable to attend, the last-mentioned box shall be opened in the presence of the officers attending to draw jurors, and the ballots therein replaced in the jury box, from which drafts shall thereafter again be made in the manner herein prescribed.
(O) Penalty for failure of jurors to attend. If any person duly summoned to attend as a juror shall neglect to attend, without any sufficient excuse, he or she shall pay a fine not exceeding $50, which shall be imposed by the Police Court.
(P) Discharge of jurors; excuse from attendance. The Police Court, when not incompatible with the proper dispatch of its business, shall have power to discharge persons summoned as jurors or dispense with their attendance on any day of its sitting.
(Q) Competency of jurors. No juror shall be deemed incompetent because the city is a party to the matter to be tried and the juror is a resident of such city.
(R) Penalty for failure to draw or summon jurors. When, by neglect of any of the duties required in this section to be performed by any of the officers or persons herein mentioned, the jurors to be returned shall not be duly drawn and summoned to attend the Court, any person guilty of such neglect shall pay a fine not exceeding $20 to be imposed by the Court.
(S) Compensation of jurors.
(1) Any person summoned as aforesaid, by virtue of a venire facias or otherwise, to serve as a juror, and actually attending the Police Court at the time summoned, whether he or she be called to serve as a juror or not, shall, for each day he or she so attends, be entitled to receive the sum of not more than $15, which sum shall include travel expenses and meal allowance. There shall be taxed in the costs against any person against whom a judgment on the verdict of a jury may be rendered in a case, and against any person on whose motion the verdict of a jury is set aside and a new trial granted, a total sufficient to pay the costs of the jury as aforesaid, which, when collected by the Clerk from the party, shall be paid to the city treasury. All money so received by the Clerk shall be forthwith paid by him or her to the City Treasurer and the Clerk and his or her surety shall be liable therefor on his or her official bond as for other money coming into his or her hands by virtue of his or her office.
(2) The Clerk of the Court shall at least annually certify to the City Treasurer a list of all money so paid to him or her and, in addition thereto, a correct list of all the cases in which jury fees have been taxed and are, at the time, properly due and payable in the city treasury.
(T) When juror not entitled to compensation. No juror who shall depart without leave of the Court shall be entitled to receive any compensation for his or her services as a juror.
(U) Record of allowance to jurors. The Clerk of the Court upon which jurors are in attendance shall quarterly, and under the direction of the Court, make an entry upon its records, stating separately the amount which each juror is entitled to receive out of the city treasury for his or her services or attendance during the quarter; and such Clerk of the Court upon which juries are in attendance, if directed by the Court, shall at any time during such period and under the direction of the Court make an entry upon its records, stating separately the amount which each juror is entitled to receive out of the city treasury for his or her services or attendance during the period. It shall be the duty of the Clerk, as soon as practicable, to transmit to the Treasurer copies of all orders under this section making allowances payable out of the city treasury. Any Clerk who shall fail to pay over, as required by law, any moneys so received by him or her or otherwise fail to comply with the provisions of this section shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and fined not less than $50.
(V) Payment of compensation. The Clerk, as soon as practicable after the adjournment of the Court, or before the adjournment of the Court at such time as the Court may direct, shall deliver to each juror a certified copy of any order under the preceding section making an allowance to him or her, payable out of the city treasury; and the Treasurer shall, upon demand, pay to such juror the amount allowed to him or her.
(W) Fraud in selection of jurors. If any person shall be guilty of any fraud, by tampering with the jury box prior to drawing jurors, or in drawing a juror, or in returning into the jury box the name of any person which has lawfully been drawn out and drawing and substituting another instead, or in failing to place such name in the box for the ballots marked “drawn”, or in any other way in the drawing of jurors, he or she shall, on conviction thereof, be punished by a fine not exceeding $500.
(X) Use of terms of gender. The words “he”, “him”, “himself”, “she”, “her” or “herself” when used in this section shall, when required by the context thereof, be taken to refer to a male or female person, as the case may be, without regard to gender.
(1986 Code, § 171.16) (Ord. passed 4-20-1986)