28 U.S.C. § 1869 — Definitions

Page 475 TITLE 28—JUDICIARY AND JUDICIAL PROCEDURE § 1869 Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 1968—Pub. L. 90–274 substituted provisions for the maintenance and inspection of records in the hands of the commission or clerk before the master wheel was emptied for provisions covering the disqualification of the United States marshal or his deputy and the ap- pointment of a disinterested person by the court. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1968 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 90–274 effective 270 days after Mar. 27, 1968, except as to cases in which an indictment has been returned or a petit jury empaneled prior to such effective date, see section 104 of Pub. L. 90–274, set out as a note under section 1861 of this title. § 1869. Definitions For purposes of this chapter— (a) ‘‘clerk’’ and ‘‘clerk of the court’’ shall mean the clerk of the district court of the United States, any authorized deputy clerk, and any other person authorized by the court to assist the clerk in the performance of func- tions under this chapter; (b) ‘‘chief judge’’ shall mean the chief judge of any district court of the United States; (c) ‘‘voter registration lists’’ shall mean the official records maintained by State or local election officials of persons registered to vote in either the most recent State or the most re- cent Federal general election, or, in the case of a State or political subdivision thereof that does not require registration as a prerequisite to voting, other official lists of persons quali- fied to vote in such election. The term shall also include the list of eligible voters main- tained by any Federal examiner pursuant to the Voting Rights Act of 1965 where the names on such list have not been included on the offi- cial registration lists or other official lists maintained by the appropriate State or local officials. With respect to the districts of Guam and the Virgin Islands, ‘‘voter registration lists’’ shall mean the official records main- tained by territorial election officials of per- sons registered to vote in the most recent ter- ritorial general election; (d) ‘‘lists of actual voters’’ shall mean the official lists of persons actually voting in ei- ther the most recent State or the most recent Federal general election; (e) ‘‘division’’ shall mean: (1) one or more statutory divisions of a judicial district; or (2) in statutory divisions that contain more than one place of holding court, or in judicial dis- tricts where there are no statutory divisions, such counties, parishes, or similar political subdivisions surrounding the places where court is held as the district court plan shall determine: Provided, That each county, parish, or similar political subdivision shall be in- cluded in some such division; (f) ‘‘district court of the United States’’, ‘‘district court’’, and ‘‘court’’ shall mean any district court established by chapter 5 of this title, and any court which is created by Act of Congress in a territory and is invested with any jurisdiction of a district court established by chapter 5 of this title; (g) ‘‘jury wheel’’ shall include any device or system similar in purpose or function, such as a properly programed electronic data proc- essing system or device; (h) ‘‘juror qualification form’’ shall mean a form prescribed by the Administrative Office of the United States Courts and approved by the Judicial Conference of the United States, which shall elicit the name, address, age, race, occupation, education, length of residence within the judicial district, distance from resi- dence to place of holding court, prior jury service, and citizenship of a potential juror, and whether he should be excused or exempted from jury service, has any physical or mental infirmity impairing his capacity to serve as juror, is able to read, write, speak, and under- stand the English language, has pending against him any charge for the commission of a State or Federal criminal offense punishable by imprisonment for more than one year, or has been convicted in any State or Federal court of record of a crime punishable by im- prisonment for more than one year and has not had his civil rights restored. The form shall request, but not require, any other infor- mation not inconsistent with the provisions of this title and required by the district court plan in the interests of the sound administra- tion of justice. The form shall also elicit the sworn statement that his responses are true to the best of his knowledge. Notarization shall not be required. The form shall contain words clearly informing the person that the fur- nishing of any information with respect to his religion, national origin, or economic status is not a prerequisite to his qualification for jury service, that such information need not be fur- nished if the person finds it objectionable to do so, and that information concerning race is required solely to enforce nondiscrimination in jury selection and has no bearing on an in- dividual’s qualification for jury service. (i) ‘‘public officer’’ shall mean a person who is either elected to public office or who is di- rectly appointed by a person elected to public office; (j) ‘‘undue hardship or extreme inconven- ience’’, as a basis for excuse from immediate jury service under section 1866(c)(1) of this chapter, shall mean great distance, either in miles or traveltime, from the place of holding court, grave illness in the family or any other emergency which outweighs in immediacy and urgency the obligation to serve as a juror when summoned, or any other factor which the court determines to constitute an undue hardship or to create an extreme inconven- ience to the juror; and in addition, in situa- tions where it is anticipated that a trial or grand jury proceeding may require more than thirty days of service, the court may consider, as a further basis for temporary excuse, severe economic hardship to an employer which would result from the absence of a key em- ployee during the period of such service; and (k) ‘‘jury summons’’ shall mean a summons issued by a clerk of court, jury commission, or their duly designated deputies, containing ei- ther a preprinted or stamped seal of court, and containing the name of the issuing clerk im- Page 476 TITLE 28—JUDICIARY AND JUDICIAL PROCEDURE § 1870 printed in preprinted, type, or facsimile man- ner on the summons or the envelopes trans- mitting the summons. (June 25, 1948, ch. 646, 62 Stat. 953; Pub. L. 88–139, § 2, Oct. 16, 1963, 77 Stat. 248; Pub. L. 90–274, § 101, Mar. 27, 1968, 82 Stat. 61; Pub. L. 91–358, title I, § 172(b), July 29, 1970, 84 Stat. 590; Pub. L. 92–437, § 1, Sept. 29, 1972, 86 Stat. 740; Pub. L. 95–572, §§ 3(b), 4, Nov. 2, 1978, 92 Stat. 2453; Pub. L. 95–598, title II, § 243, Nov. 6, 1978, 92 Stat. 2671; Pub. L. 99–650, § 3, Nov. 14, 1986, 100 Stat. 3641; Pub. L. 100–702, title VIII, §§ 802(a), 804, Nov. 19, 1988, 102 Stat. 4657, 4658; Pub. L. 110–406, § 5(c), Oct. 13, 2008, 122 Stat. 4292.) HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES Based on title 28, U.S.C., 1940 ed., § 423 (Mar. 3, 1911, ch. 231, § 286, 36 Stat. 1166). Changes were made in phra- seology. Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT The Voting Rights Act of 1965, referred to in subsec. (c), is Pub. L. 89–110, Aug. 6, 1965, 79 Stat. 437, which was formerly classified generally to subchapters I–A (§ 1973 et seq.), I–B (§ 1973aa et seq.), and I–C (§ 1973bb et seq.) of chapter 20 of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare, prior to editorial reclassification and renumbering in Title 52, Voting and Elections, and is now classified generally to chapters 103 (§ 10301 et seq.), 105 (§ 10501 et seq.), and 107 (§ 10701 et seq.) of Title 52. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Tables. AMENDMENTS 2008—Subsecs. (j) to (l). Pub. L. 110–406 inserted ‘‘and’’ at end of subsec. (j), redesignated subsec. (l) as (k), and struck out former subsec. (k) which defined ‘‘publicly draw’’. 1988—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 100–702, § 802(a), amended subsec. (a) generally, substituting ‘‘, any authorized deputy clerk, and any other person authorized by the court to assist the clerk in the performance of func- tions under this chapter’’ for ‘‘or any authorized deputy clerk’’. Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 100–702, § 804, amended subsec. (f) generally. Prior to amendment, subsec. (f) read as fol- lows: ‘‘ ‘district court of the United States’, ‘district court’, and ‘court’ shall mean courts constituted under chapter 5 of title 28, United States Code, section 22 of the Organic Act of Guam, as amended (64 Stat. 389; 48 U.S.C. 1424), section 21 of the Revised Organic Act of the Virgin Islands (68 Stat. 506; 48 U.S.C. 1611), and sec- tion 1 of title 3, Canal Zone Code;;’’. 1986—Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 99–650 struck out ‘‘except that for purposes of sections 1861, 1862, 1866(c), 1866(d), and 1867 of this chapter such terms shall include the Superior Court of the District of Columbia’’ after ‘‘Canal Zone Code;’’. 1978—Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 95–598 directed the amend- ment of subsec. (f) by inserting ‘‘chapter 6 of title 28, United States Code,’’ after ‘‘chapter 5 of title 28, United States Code,’’, which amendment did not become effec- tive pursuant to section 402(b) of Pub. L. 95–598, as amended, set out as an Effective Date note preceding section 101 of Title 11, Bankruptcy. Subsec. (h). Pub. L. 95–572, § 3(b), struck out ‘‘by par- don or amnesty’’ after ‘‘civil rights restored’’. Subsecs. (j) to (l). Pub. L. 95–572, § 4, added subsecs. (j) to (l). 1972—Subsec. (h). Pub. L. 92–437 added race and occu- pation to the particulars to be elicited on the juror qualification form, in provisions distinguishing be- tween information to be requested and information to be required, struck out ‘‘race and occupation of a po- tential juror’’, and in information to be contained in the form, struck out ‘‘race, color’’ and ‘‘occupation’’ from the particulars, and required additional material to be contained in the form that information con- cerning race is required solely to enforce non- discrimination in jury selection and that it has no bearing on an individual’s qualification for jury serv- ice. 1970—Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 91–358 substituted reference to the Superior Court of the District of Columbia for references to the District of Columbia Court of General Sessions and the Juvenile Court of the District of Co- lumbia. 1968—Pub. L. 90–274 substituted provisions defining ‘‘clerk’’, ‘‘clerk of the court’’, ‘‘chief judge’’, ‘‘voter registration lists’’, ‘‘list of actual voters’’, ‘‘division’’, ‘‘district court’’, ‘‘jury wheel’’, ‘‘juror qualification form’’, and ‘‘public officer’’ for provisions allowing the challenge of a petit juror who had been summoned and attended court as a petit juror at any session held within one year prior to the challenge. 1963—Pub. L. 88–139 substituted ‘‘session’’ for ‘‘term’’. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1986 AMENDMENT Pub. L. 99–650, § 4(a), Nov. 14, 1986, 100 Stat. 3641, pro- vided in part that: ‘‘The provisions of this Act [amend- ing this section] shall take effect 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act [Nov. 14, 1986]’’. EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1978 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 95–572 applicable with respect to any grand or petit juror summoned for service or ac- tually serving on or after Nov. 2, 1978, see section 7(a) of Pub. L. 95–572, set out as an Effective Date note under section 1363 of this title. EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1972 AMENDMENT Pub. L. 92–437, § 2, Sept. 29, 1972, 86 Stat. 741, provided that: ‘‘This Act [amending this section] shall take ef- fect on the sixtieth day after the date of its enactment [Sept. 29, 1972].’’ EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1970 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 91–358 effective first day of seventh calendar month which begins after July 29, 1970, see section 199(a) of Pub. L. 91–358, set out as a note under section 1257 of this title. EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1968 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 90–274 effective 270 days after Mar. 27, 1968, except as to cases in which an indictment has been returned or a petit jury empaneled prior to such effective date, see section 104 of Pub. L. 90–274, set out as a note under section 1861 of this title. TERMINATION OF UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF THE CANAL ZONE For termination of the United States District Court for the District of the Canal Zone at end of the ‘‘transi- tion period’’, being the 30-month period beginning Oct. 1, 1979, and ending midnight Mar. 31, 1982, see Para- graph 5 of Article XI of the Panama Canal Treaty of 1977 and Pub. L. 96–70, title II, §§ 2101, 2202–2203, Sept. 27, 1979, 93 Stat. 493, 494, formerly classified to sections 3831 and 3841 to 3843, respectively, of Title 22, Foreign Relations and Intercourse. § 1870. Challenges In civil cases, each party shall be entitled to three peremptory challenges. Several defendants or several plaintiffs may be considered as a sin- gle party for the purposes of making challenges, or the court may allow additional peremptory challenges and permit them to be exercised sep- arately or jointly. All challenges for cause or favor, whether to the array or panel or to individual jurors, shall be determined by the court.