Fewer jurors causing problems

By Cindy Landrum  

SEPTEMBER 20, 2010 6:50 p.m. (0)

Trials had to be postponed in Greenville County and a driving under the influence conviction in the 7th Circuit was overturned – all because of a lack of potential jurors in magistrate court.

Earlier this month, Greenville County Chief Magistrate Diane Cagle had to postpone a week of trials after only 28 people showed up for jury selection.

And Circuit Court Judge Mark Hayes overturned a driving under the influence conviction because only there were only 39 people in the potential jury pool.

According to state law, magistrate courts “must draw at least 40 but not more than 100 jurors to serve one week only.”

Although only six jurors are needed to hear a case in magistrate court, it’s important to get a fair representation of the community in the jury pool, Cagle said. And, she said, there are more cases going to trial.

Not having enough jurors “happens once in a while,” Cagle said, putting an already crowded court docket that much more behind.

Part of the problem is the way the jury pool is drawn for magistrate court as opposed to state General Sessions or Common Pleas court.

While state court draws potential jurors from voter registration records, driver’s license holders and those with state identification cards issued by the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles, magistrate court draws only from voter registration records.

And while Cagle said she likes having jurors drawn from voter registration rolls because it is clear they take their civic duty as citizens seriously, people are not as good about updating their information at the voter registration office as they are about changing the address on their driver’s license, filing a change of address form at the post office to forward their mail and getting their power and lights turned on, she said.

“I don’t think people are doing it on purpose,” Cagle said. “All of us are probably guilty of that. People just don’t think about their voter registration until it’s time for another election.”

Although those who don’t show up for jury duty can be fined up to $100, there’s more of a chance the names on the magistrate court potential juror list are people who are not eligible to serve because they moved.

Cagle said Greenville County already calls more than the 100 potential jurors allowed by the state law because of special permission from South Carolina Court Administration.

She said it is necessary for her to call 125 people now because anybody over the age of 65 can asked to be excused from jury duty.

Mothers of children under the age of seven can ask to get out of jury duty as can teachers and students when school is in session.

Cagle said she plans to write for permission to call 150 people at a time. She said she will also consider holding night court to decrease the backlog of cases and to handle the increased number of driving under the influence cases caused by increased summer enforcement.

“I’ll do whatever it takes to move these cases,” said Cagle, who said there are more than 700 cases waiting for trial.

The 7th Circuit Solicitor’s Office is appealing Hayes’ ruling to overturn a man’s February DUI conviction, according to Murray Glenn, spokesman. In that case, defense attorney Keith Kelly objected to there only being 39 potential jurors in the pool. The magistrate judge decided to allow the trial to continue.

It is not known when the South Carolina Court of Appeals will hear the case, he said.