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High court considering question of jury lists
Wednesday, January 18, 2006 | 2 comment(s)
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SALEM, Ore. (AP) - The Oregon Supreme Court is considering whether jury lists should be open to the public.
The court heard arguments last week about whether people who are not involved in specific legal actions can obtain the lists, which are drawn from driver and voter-registration records. State law bars their disclosure except to litigants in civil or criminal trials who allege a jury was unlawfully selected.
Newport lawyer Rose Jade has sought access to the lists to analyze potential jurors in Lincoln County.
“We believe the public has a right to jury lists because there are so many interests in the system,” Jade said. “You want prospective jurors to be reflective of the community as a whole.”
The Oregon Court of Appeals ruled last year that jury lists should be public.
“Taint at the source could flow forward at each subsequent step,” Judge David Schuman wrote. “Thus, to protect the values guaranteed by the (federal) First Amendment right of access to the jury selection process, that process must be open from the first step.”
Assistant Attorney General Erika Hadlock argued last week that state and federal courts have not held that constitutional guarantees of free speech require disclosure of the information. She said people seeking the disclosure of jury lists do not have public purposes in mind.
“They seek to use the First Amendment as a discovery device” to gain access to confidential information, she said.
Because the lawsuit names as a defendant the chief justice of the Oregon Supreme Court, who also is leader of the state court system, neither Wallace Carson Jr. nor Paul De Muniz participated in the case. De Muniz succeeded Carson as chief justice Jan. 1.
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Information from: Statesman Journal, http://www.statesmanjournal.com
SALEM, Ore. (AP) - The Oregon Supreme Court is considering whether jury lists should be open to the public.
The court heard arguments last week about whether people who are not involved in specific legal actions can obtain the lists, which are drawn from driver and voter-registration records. State law bars their disclosure except to litigants in civil or criminal trials who allege a jury was unlawfully selected.
Newport lawyer Rose Jade has sought access to the lists to analyze potential jurors in Lincoln County.
“We believe the public has a right to jury lists because there are so many interests in the system,” Jade said. “You want prospective jurors to be reflective of the community as a whole.”
The Oregon Court of Appeals ruled last year that jury lists should be public.
“Taint at the source could flow forward at each subsequent step,” Judge David Schuman wrote. “Thus, to protect the values guaranteed by the (federal) First Amendment right of access to the jury selection process, that process must be open from the first step.”
Assistant Attorney General Erika Hadlock argued last week that state and federal courts have not held that constitutional guarantees of free speech require disclosure of the information. She said people seeking the disclosure of jury lists do not have public purposes in mind.
“They seek to use the First Amendment as a discovery device” to gain access to confidential information, she said.
Because the lawsuit names as a defendant the chief justice of the Oregon Supreme Court, who also is leader of the state court system, neither Wallace Carson Jr. nor Paul De Muniz participated in the case. De Muniz succeeded Carson as chief justice Jan. 1.
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Information from: Statesman Journal, http://www.statesmanjournal.com
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