The way that Georgia counties create pools of potential jurors changes today.
That means that more people could be called for jury duty, but those who are called should be called less often. Also, some Georgians who have been excused from jury duty may be added back into pools as bugs are worked out.
“We ask that everyone be patient with us during this transitional period,” Fancy Moran, Catoosa County Superior Court clerk, wrote in a news release. “I can assure you that my staff and I will do everything we can to rectify problems if they occur.”
What’s changing is that Georgia has ended “forced balancing” of jury pools. Since the 1960s, each county has had a board of jury commissioners who used U.S. census data to compile a pool of potential jurors that matched their county’s racial, age and gender demographics.
This process was called “balancing the box,” and it was “very tedious,” said Jody Overcash, district court administrator of Georgia’s 14-county 7th Judicial District. The district includes Catoosa, Chattooga, Dade, Gordon, Murray, Walker and Whitfield counties.