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Clay S
Mar 27, 2025, 3:20:02 PMMar 27
to election by jury
okay, here's a breakdown of how the grand jury selection process generally works in dekalb county, georgia, based on georgia state law and common county practices:
* Master list creation: A master list of potential jurors is created for dekalb county. This list is compiled primarily from georgia department of driver services records (including driver's licenses and state identification cards) and voter registration lists. the goal is to create a broad cross-section of eligible citizens residing in the county.
* Random selection: Names are randomly drawn from this master list to receive a jury summons. this random selection is crucial to ensure impartiality.
* Summons issuance: The dekalb county superior court clerk's office (specifically, its jury management division) mails official jury summonses to the selected individuals. the summons specifies the date, time, and location to report for jury duty.
* Qualification & screening: The summons includes a questionnaire (or directs recipients to an online portal) to determine if the person is legally qualified to serve. basic qualifications typically include:
* being 18 years or older.
* being a u.s. citizen.
* being a resident of dekalb county.
* being able to communicate in english.
* not having felony convictions (unless civil rights have been restored).
* not currently serving as a grand juror in another court.
* Exemptions & deferrals: Georgia law allows for certain exemptions (e.g., for individuals over 70, primary caregivers of young children, full-time students) and deferrals (postponing service to a later date due to temporary hardship). individuals must request these according to the instructions on the summons.
* Reporting for duty: Those who are qualified and not excused or deferred must report to the dekalb county courthouse as instructed.
* Final selection (impanelment): From the pool of potential jurors who report, a specific number (typically between 16 and 23 for a georgia grand jury, plus alternates) are randomly selected to be impaneled as the grand jury for a specific term (usually two months in dekalb county). a superior court judge presides over this final selection process. there usually isn't the extensive questioning (voir dire) seen in trial jury selection; the focus is more on ensuring basic qualifications and availability.
in summary, dekalb county grand jurors are selected through a multi-stage random process, starting with a broad list derived from driver's license/id and voter records, followed by summoning, screening for qualifications, and a final random draw at the courthouse under judicial supervision. the dekalb county superior court clerk's office manages the administrative aspects of this process.
* Master list creation: A master list of potential jurors is created for dekalb county. This list is compiled primarily from georgia department of driver services records (including driver's licenses and state identification cards) and voter registration lists. the goal is to create a broad cross-section of eligible citizens residing in the county.
* Random selection: Names are randomly drawn from this master list to receive a jury summons. this random selection is crucial to ensure impartiality.
* Summons issuance: The dekalb county superior court clerk's office (specifically, its jury management division) mails official jury summonses to the selected individuals. the summons specifies the date, time, and location to report for jury duty.
* Qualification & screening: The summons includes a questionnaire (or directs recipients to an online portal) to determine if the person is legally qualified to serve. basic qualifications typically include:
* being 18 years or older.
* being a u.s. citizen.
* being a resident of dekalb county.
* being able to communicate in english.
* not having felony convictions (unless civil rights have been restored).
* not currently serving as a grand juror in another court.
* Exemptions & deferrals: Georgia law allows for certain exemptions (e.g., for individuals over 70, primary caregivers of young children, full-time students) and deferrals (postponing service to a later date due to temporary hardship). individuals must request these according to the instructions on the summons.
* Reporting for duty: Those who are qualified and not excused or deferred must report to the dekalb county courthouse as instructed.
* Final selection (impanelment): From the pool of potential jurors who report, a specific number (typically between 16 and 23 for a georgia grand jury, plus alternates) are randomly selected to be impaneled as the grand jury for a specific term (usually two months in dekalb county). a superior court judge presides over this final selection process. there usually isn't the extensive questioning (voir dire) seen in trial jury selection; the focus is more on ensuring basic qualifications and availability.
in summary, dekalb county grand jurors are selected through a multi-stage random process, starting with a broad list derived from driver's license/id and voter records, followed by summoning, screening for qualifications, and a final random draw at the courthouse under judicial supervision. the dekalb county superior court clerk's office manages the administrative aspects of this process.
Rajiv Prabhakar
Mar 27, 2025, 5:37:52 PMMar 27
to election...@googlegroups.com
From your link, am I reading correctly that they are not using juries to select the board of commissioners? And the last time they did so was 100 years ago?
> However, in 1912, the General Assembly repealed this form of government and created a third Board with the same powers and duties as the second Board with the membership of the Board being determined by the county grand jury. In 1918, this third Board of Commissioners was altered in order to allow the voters from the five road districts to elect the membership, making this Board look exactly like the 1902 Board of Commissioners.
> In 1981, the act of 1956 was revised and led to what is now the current government of DeKalb County. Two separate offices were created: the legislative Board of Commissioners and the administrative Chief Executive Officer. Seven members make up the Board of Commissioner, five elected from individual districts and two elected from super districts that make up about half of the county's population. In 2008, the voters of DeKalb County approved a change in the governance structure. Starting with the first meeting in 2009, the Commission set their own agenda and presided over their own meetings. As part of this change, the Office of the Clerk was transferred from the Finance Department where it had historically been to the Board of Commissioners.
BTW, I created a new "Learn More" page on our website so that we will have a place for detailed long-form content. I added your 2 links to get that page started, feel free to add/suggest more: https://www.electionbyjury.org/learn-more
Regards,
Rajiv
Rajiv
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Clay S
Mar 27, 2025, 7:32:43 PMMar 27
to election by jury
On Thursday, March 27, 2025 at 2:37:52 PM UTC-7 rajivprab wrote:
From your link, am I reading correctly that they are not using juries to select the board of commissioners? And the last time they did so was 100 years ago?
yeah but i found an ongoing use, for electing the boards of equalization.
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