United States v. Kouri-Perez

992 F. Supp. 502, 1998 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3145, 1998 WL 113377
CourtDistrict Court, D. Puerto Rico
DecidedFebruary 27, 1998
DocketCrim. 97-091(JAF)
StatusPublished

This text of 992 F. Supp. 502 (United States v. Kouri-Perez) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Puerto Rico primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Kouri-Perez, 992 F. Supp. 502, 1998 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3145, 1998 WL 113377 (prd 1998).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM ORDER

FUSTE, District Judge.

I.

The impartial administration of justice requires that grand and petit jurors be selected by a fair system that eliminates or at least minimizes the risk of exemption and exclusion on impermissible grounds. To achieve that end, Congress adopted the Jury Selection and Service Act of 1968, 28 U.S.C.. §§ 1861-1869. The statute, which the Judicial Conference of the United States endorsed, 1967 Jud.Conf. Rept. 41-43, provides a uniform method for selecting grand and petit jurors in federal courts. The Act secures a certain degree of local flexibility by providing for each district court to adopt a jury selection plan consistent with section 1863 of the Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1863.

The statute incorporates two important principles: (1) random, selection of the names of jurors from voters’ lists;' and (2) determination of juror disqualifications, excuses, exemptions, and exclusions on the basis of objective criteria only. United States v. Price, 573 F.2d 356, 360 (5th Cir.1978).

The Jury Selection and Service Act provides that no citizen shall be excluded from jury service “on account of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, or economic status.” The statute provides procedures that are intended to prevent' such objectionable exclusions.

The District of Puerto Rico has in full force and effect a jury plan pursuant to the Jury Selection and Service Act of 1968. The current plan follows model plans proposed by the Administrative Office of U.S. Courts and the judges of this court approved it on September 1,1996. It appears on file as a public document in Miscellaneous No. 96-112(PG).

The source of names for the master jury wheel is voter registration data generated by the Commonwealth government. From time to time, names are drawn at random from the master jury wheel, and each person whose name is drawn is sent a juror qualification form to fill out and return. 28 U.S.C. § 1864. A judicial officer then determines, on the basis of the information provided on the juror qualification form and any additional evidence, whether a person is unqualified, exempt or may be excused from jury service. 28 U.S.C. § 1865(a). The remaining names are placed in the qualified jury wheel, from which names are drawn at random as needed for assignment to grand and petit jury panels. 28 U.S.C. § 1866(a).

The statutory qualifications for jury service are straightforward. Prospective jurors must be at least eighteen years of age, must have resided for one year within the judicial *504 district, and be able to read, write, speak, and understand the English language. Those so qualified can serve as grand or petit jurors unless they are incapable of rendering jury service by reason of mental or physical infirmity, or have been convicted or charged with a felony in federal or state court and their civil rights have not been restored. 28 U.S.C. § 1865(b).

The local jury selection plan specifies those groups of persons or occupational classes whose members shall be barred from jury service on the ground that they are exempt. See Local Jury Plan, pages 3-6, paragraphs 7-9, Exclusion, Excuse, or Exemption from Jury Service, Automatic Exemptions from Jury Service, and Discretional Excuses Upon Request.

Regarding the statutory qualifications and the provisions of the jury plan, federal case law provides helpful directives to be followed by this District in dealing with the fact that the District of Puerto Rico exists in an entirely bilingual context, where one finds otherwise-qualified jurors who are not conversant in the English language and others who are fully conversant in both Spanish and English. A brief chronological mention of some of these decisions is in order.

In Miranda v. United States, 255 F.2d 9 (1st Cir.1958), the defendant contended that because persons who could not speak and understand the English language were systematically excluded from the grand jury, he could validly challenge the composition of the grand jury or petit jury. The Court of Appeals decided that the requirement of English proficiency for jury service in the District of Puerto Rico was clearly reasonable and indeed necessary to the proper function of the court as a member of the federal judicial system. The court found it essential that the judge, counsel, and all the jurors “[h]ave a working knowledge of [English] if the judicial machinery is to function effectively.” Id. at 17.

In United States v. Dejesus Boria, 518 F.2d 368, 371 (1st Cir.1975), the Court of Appeals endorsed the previously-established principle, stating that “[w]e are of the opinion that the present system affords Spanish-speaking defendants their rights to due process, a fair trial, the assistance of counsel, and the equal protection of the laws under the fifth, sixth, and fourteenth amendments.” Relying on Dejesus Boria, the District Court stated in United States v. Ojedar-Rios, 714 F.Supp. 600 (D.P.R.1989), that “[o]ur own experience in criminal proceedings confirms the conclusion that the present system is not constitutionally infirm.” Id. The district court proceeded to deny the defendant’s motion to conduct the trial in the Spanish language. In United States v. Aponte-Suarez, 905 F.2d 483 (1st Cir.1990), the Court of Appeals considered English proficiency in the context of section 1865 of the Jury Selection and Service Act of 1968, 28 U.S.C. § 1865(b)(2, 3). The Court of Appeals stated in clear and practical terms the following:

Appellants contend that the indictment was defective because the grand jurors were not proficient in English, that the petit jury also lacked proficiency and that they were entitled to demonstrate that proficiency in English among Puerto Rico residents is on the decline, with a corresponding adverse effect on juries in the District of Puerto Rico.

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Related

Duren v. Missouri
439 U.S. 357 (Supreme Court, 1979)
United States v. Royal
100 F.3d 1019 (First Circuit, 1996)
Armando A. Miranda v. United States
255 F.2d 9 (First Circuit, 1958)
United States v. Nicolas Dejesus Boria
518 F.2d 368 (First Circuit, 1975)
United States v. Ojeda-Rios
714 F. Supp. 600 (D. Puerto Rico, 1989)
United States v. Aponte-Suarez
905 F.2d 483 (First Circuit, 1990)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
992 F. Supp. 502, 1998 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3145, 1998 WL 113377, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-kouri-perez-prd-1998.