United States v. Hobert Leon Edwards

465 F.2d 943
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
DecidedAugust 15, 1972
Docket72-1476
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 465 F.2d 943 (United States v. Hobert Leon Edwards) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Hobert Leon Edwards, 465 F.2d 943 (9th Cir. 1972).

Opinion

HAMLEY, Circuit Judge.

Hobert Leon Edwards appeals from his conviction of the offense of attempted armed bank robbery, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2113(a), (d).

Edwards first argues that the trial court erred in denying defendant’s motion, made before trial, that the proceedings be stayed because the petit jury selection procedure in use in the Northern District of California fails to comply with the Jury Selection and Service Act of 1968 (Act), 28 U.S.C. § 1861 et seq. The motion was timely and an appropriate way to challenge compliance with the jury selection procedures. See 28 U.S.C. § 1867(a), (d).

The basis of defendant’s motion was that, under the petit jury selection procedure in use in the Northern District of California at the time of the trial, all citizens of the six counties within the Eureka and Oakland divisions of that district had no opportunity to serve on federal juries. In urging that the Act *945 requires that all citizens shall have the opportunity to be considered for service on grand and petit juries in the districts in which they reside, defendant relies primarily upon the following italicized portions of the declaration of policy set out in 28 U.S.C. § 1861:

“§ 1861. Declaration of policy
“It is the policy of the United States that all litigants in Federal courts entitled to trial by jury shall have the right to grand and petit juries selected at random from a fair cross section of the community in the district or division wherein the court convenes. It is further the policy of the United States that all citizens shall have the opportunity to be considered for service on grand and petit juries in the district courts of the United States, and shall have an obligation to serve as jurors when summoned for that purpose.” (Emphasis supplied.)

Defendant, while urging the court to consider the Act as a whole, also calls special attention to 28 U.S.C. § 1863(b) (3), which, among other things, requires that every jury selection plan authorized by the Act “shall ensure that each county, parish, or similar political subdivision' within the district or division is substantially proportionally represented in the master jury wheel” for that district or division. 1 In addition, defendant calls attention to a provision of the Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1863(b) (7), under which the jury selection plan can specify a distance from the courthouse beyond which a summoned juror’s request for discharge is automatically granted. 2

The Act (28 U.S.C. § 1863(a) ) provides that each United States district court shall devise and place into operation a written plan for random selection of grand and petit jurors that shall be designed to achieve the objectives of 28 U.S.C. §§ 1861 and 1862. 3 The amended Plan of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California (Plan), approved May 4, 1970, divides that district into four judicial divisions, known as the Eureka, Oakland, San Francisco and San Jose divisions. 4 The *946 policy declaration set out in the Plan closely follows the statutory policy declarations set out in 28 U.S.C. §§ 1861 and 1862.

Consistent with 28 U.S.C. § 1863(b) (3) 5 and (4), the Plan calls for the maintenance of a “master” jury wheel for each of the four divisions within the district. The names of all persons randomly selected from the voter registration lists of the counties in each division are to be placed in the master jury wheel for the respective divisions.

In addition to these master jury wheels, the Plan, consistent with 28 U. S.C. § 1866(a), requires the clerk to maintain separate “qualified” jury wheels for each division in the district. There is to be placed in these wheels the names of all persons drawn from the master jury wheel for such division, and not disqualified, exempt or excused pursuant to the Plan.

The Plan also provides for the maintenance of “ready” wheels for each division, to be drawn by the clerk at random from the various qualified wheels. Each ready wheel shall contain such jurors as have not been excused or otherwise disqualified by the court under the Plan. 6 Each ready panel is to be empaneled in the San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose divisions beginning on the first Monday in April and October “whenever necessary for the regular sessions of the Court at San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose.” A ready panel is to be empaneled for the Eureka division on the last Monday in September “whenever necessary for sessions of this Court at Eureka.” For the purpose of obtaining a jury panel for a particular trial, the clerk is to draw at random from the ready jury wheels.

In compliance with the Plan, master jury wheels and qualified juror wheels are maintained in San Francisco for all four divisions of the Northern District of California. At the time of the trial herein, which commenced on December 13, 1971, ready wheels were also maintained for the San Francisco and San Jose divisions, but not for the Eureka and Oakland divisions. At that time no criminal trials were being held in the Eureka and Oakland divisions. 7 Since the trial of Edwards, ready wheels have been maintained for both Eureka (beginning April 17, 1972) and Oakland (beginning March 24, 1972), and criminal cases were set for trial in both of these divisions in 1972.

Under established procedure in the Northern District of California, a criminal trial is held in the Eureka or Oakland divisions only when the court finds upon its own motion, motion of any party, or stipulation, that the convenience of parties and witnesses, in the interest of justice, will be served by transferring the action to Eureka or Oakland. 8

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

United States v. Carter
585 F. Supp. 167 (W.D. Pennsylvania, 1984)
United States v. James J. Pazsint
703 F.2d 420 (Ninth Circuit, 1983)
United States v. Frank C. Marolda
615 F.2d 867 (Ninth Circuit, 1980)
United States v. Donald Anderson and Jack Smith
532 F.2d 1218 (Ninth Circuit, 1976)
United States v. Salvatore Cirami and James Cirami
510 F.2d 69 (Second Circuit, 1975)
United States v. Harold Dawson
516 F.2d 796 (Ninth Circuit, 1975)
United States v. Richard Steven Skelley
501 F.2d 447 (Seventh Circuit, 1974)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
465 F.2d 943, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-hobert-leon-edwards-ca9-1972.