While Hamilton County courts are being accused of having mostly white jury pools, neighboring counties in Georgia have jury inclusiveness requirements, according to Catoosa County Court Clerk Tracy Brown.
The Tennessee Constitution guarantees every person accused of a crime is entitled to a speedy public trial by an impartial jury representative of the county where the crime was committed, but the state’s code offers little guidance on how to maintain jury inclusiveness.
Chattanooga attorney John Cavett filed a motion in March claiming Hamilton County’s jury pool selection process is unconstitutional because the jury pools are made up of a disproportionate number of white people relative to the local population, the motion states. The master list is made up solely of driver’s license data.
At a hearing earlier this month, Cavett said other states already determined that relying on multiple databases is the best practice for creating diverse jury pools.
For example, every person in Georgia who is at least 18 and registered to vote or has a driver’s license or personal identification card is part of each county’s master list, according to state code. The state is required to use two databases.
In 2023, Catoosa County’s master jury list was deemed 106.3% inclusive of its believed demographics, according to Brown, the clerk of of Catoosa County Superior, State and Juvenile Court.
There may be some smaller Georgia counties that have trouble with diversity, but there are remedies in state law to help with that situation, she said.
Hamilton County Circuit Court Clerk Larry Henry previously said there are no local issues with jury selection. He is expected to testify about the local processes during a June 17 hearing on the matter.
A side-by-side of some Tennessee and Georgia jury selection laws:
TENNESSEE
— The names from which jury pools are selected can be compiled from driving records, tax records or other available and reliable automated sources, state law says. A county jury coordinator can use a single source or a combination of sources.
— Jury coordinators are prohibited from using voter registration records as a source for the jury list.
— Hamilton County and others are not required to measure or record the demographics of their jury pools, under state law, so it cannot be determined whether jury pools are representative of the community.
(READ MORE: Hamilton County criminal justice advocates blast bond practices)
GEORGIA
— Each county’s master jury list should be no less than 85% inclusive of the entire population of those older than 18, which is determined by the most recent year of censusd data, according to the jury composition rule. The inclusiveness percentage is not allowed to be below that 85% threshold in certain counties.
— Upon completion of the master jury lists, the inclusiveness of each county and the entire state must be reported to and certified by the Georgia Supreme Court, the rule states. Brown and all clerks receive a certificate each year verifying how inclusive their master jury list is, she said.
— The race of each potential juror is reported on the state’s master list whenever it is available, according to state law, so Georgia can track the demographics of potential jurors to some extent.
Contact Sofia Saric at ssaric@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6476.
Staff photo / Chairs for the jury box in the courtroom of the Rhea County Courthouse are seen in 2016 in Dayton, Tenn.