United States v. Collins

25 F. Cas. 545, 1 Woods 499
CourtU.S. Circuit Court for the Southern District of Georgia
DecidedApril 15, 1873
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 25 F. Cas. 545 (United States v. Collins) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering U.S. Circuit Court for the Southern District of Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Collins, 25 F. Cas. 545, 1 Woods 499 (circtsdga 1873).

Opinion

BRADLEY. Circuit Justice.

A motion is made to quash the indictment in this case on the ground that the grand jury, by which it was found, was illegally selected and impaneled. The process and procedure of the courts of the United States are, of course, subject to the sole regulation of congress and of those courts. They are entirely independent of state laws and usages, except so far as these may be adopted, or followed as a matter of convenience. There is no fundamental principle which requires a conformity thereto. Undoubtedly the convenience of the legal profession. and the habits of the people will be best consulted by a general conformity as far as circumstances will admit. That is all. On the subject of selecting and impaneling jurors in the United States courts, congress at its first session, in the twenty-ninth section of the judiciary act, directed that they should be designated by lot, or otherwise, in each state, according to the mode therein practiced at that time, so far as practicable: and that they should have the same qualifications as required for jurors in the highest courts of the state; and should be returned from such parts of the district as the court should direct. This rule was subsequently modified and, in 1S40, it was so framed as to adapt it to the changes which might, from time to time, be made by state legislation. By the act of July 20th, ot that year, which is the law now in force (5 Stat. 394). it was provided ‘‘that jurors to serve in the courts of the United States in each state respectively, shall have the like qualifications, and be entitled to the like exemptions as jurors of the liighest court of law of such state now have and are entitled to, and shall hereafter from time to time have and be entitled, and shall be designated by ballot, lot, or otherwise, according to the mode of forming such juries, now practiced and hereafter to be practiced therein, in so far as such mode may lie practicable by the courts of the United States, or the officers thereof; and for this purpose the courts shall have power to make all necessary rules and regulations for conforming the designation and impaneling of juries, in substance, to the laws and usages now in force in such state,” with power to make such changes in these respects as the legislature of the state may adopt.

It is pertinent to observe that congress does not adopt the respective state laws, but only requires conformity to them in certain respects, and then gives the courts power to make rules for the attainment of such conformity, in substance as far as practicable, in their different circumstances. The question now to decide is, whether the rules which [547]*547have been adopted by this court on the subject, conform to the requirements of the act of congress. There is nothing in the act that requires a slavish or minute adherence to the details of the state practice; and nothing which hints at the incongruous notion that the courts of the United States in the designation and impaneling of jurors are to employ any officers or agencies except their own, and those under their control. The great object is to obtain jurors of like qualifications, and to designate and impanel them in substantially the same way as in the state courts. And, of course, tfiis is to be effected by the courts of the United States themselves and their officers, and not by the agency of state courts or their officers; for the act, in speaking of the mode to be followed,' expressly says, “in so far as such mode may be practicable by the courts of the United States, or the officers thereof.” It would be an inconvenient mixture of jurisdictions, and might seriously embarrass the proceedings of the courts, if they had to depend on the action of state officials, over whom they have no supervision’ or control. This disposes in limine of the objection that the jury list was not taken, and that the rule does not require them to be taken from the lists made by the state authorities. As state officials make up the jury lists for the state courts, even strict parallelism of practice requires that the United States officials should make them up for the United States courts. The harmony of the state and federal jurisdictions requires that each should act freely and independently of each other.

The question then recurs, whether the rules adopted by this court in reference to jurors accords with the act of congress, in adopting the state practice, so far. as the courts of the United States and the officers thereof, independent of the aid of the state courts and officers, can practicably conform to such practice in the respects required by the act. Conformity is required by the act in two respects: First, in reference to the qualifications and exemptions of jurors: secondly, in reference to the mode of designating and impaneling jurors, as by ballot, lot or otherwise, which mode is to be conformed, in substance, to that pursued in the highest court of the state. It will be observed that the act does not require the court to make any rules with regard to the qualification of jurors, but only with regard to the mode of selecting them. Qualifications have respect to the juror personally, and may relate to his age, his property, citizenship, or anything else belonging to his personal character or standing. In the state of Georgia the only qualifications of jurors, expressly required by the constitution and laws, are that they shall be upright and intelligent jurors between the ages of 21 and 60. There is an implied qualification that they shall be tax payers, and therefore citizens, as the statute of February 15, 1869, requires that they shall be selected for the state courts in each county from the book of the receiver of tax returns. Of course, the placing of a man’s name on the receiver’s book is not a qualification; for it is the act of another man. It implies a qualification, however, namely, that of being a tax payer, or a person liable to pay taxes and to have his name placed on said book. Now all these qualifications are required in jurors by the rule of this court. The officers appointed for the purpose are to select from the body of the district five hundred upright and intelligent persons,. citizens of the district (and of course tax payers), between the ages of 21 and 60 years, without regard to race, color, or previous condition, to serve as jurors. As before remarked, it was not necessary that the rule should have specified these qualifications. Jurors not having them could be objected to by a challenge to the polls without any rule of court on the subject. But the rule has specified them, and in do- ' ing so has adopted the qualifications which the state laws require. On this point the objection to the rules cannot be sustained.

The next question is, whether the rules of this court have in substance adopted the mode of designating and impaneling jurors, which is prescribed by the state laws, as by ballot, lot. or otherwise. The act of eon-gress requires that they shall “be designated by ballot, lot, or otherwise, according to the mode of forming such juries,” practiced in the highest court of law of the state, “in so far as such mode may be practicable by the courts of the United States, or the officers thereof, and for this purpose” (that is, for the purpose of securing the designation of jurors by ballot, lot, or otherwise, according to the mode practiced in the state courts), the courts of the United States “shall have power to make all necessary rules and regulations for conforming the designation and impaneling of juries, in substance, to the laws and usages” of the state. From this language of the act it is obvious that all that is required is.

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Related

United States v. Richardson
28 F. 61 (U.S. Circuit Court, 1886)
Brewer v. Jacobs
22 F. 217 (U.S. Circuit Court, 1884)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
25 F. Cas. 545, 1 Woods 499, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-collins-circtsdga-1873.