2018 New Mexico Statutes
Chapter 38 - Trials
Article 5 - Drawing and Empaneling Jurors
Section 38-5-3 - Source for juror selection.

A. Each county clerk shall make available to the secretary of state a database of registered voters of the clerk's county. The secretary of state shall preserve and make available to the department of information technology, by electronic media, a database of New Mexico registered voters, by county, which shall be updated every six months. The director of the motor vehicle division of the taxation and revenue department shall make available by electronic media to the department of information technology a database of driver's license holders in each county, which shall be updated every six months. The secretary of taxation and revenue shall make available to the department of information technology, by electronic media, a database of New Mexico personal income tax filers by county, which shall be updated every six months. The updates shall occur in June and December.

B. The department of information technology shall program the merger of the registered voter, driver's license and personal income tax filer databases from each county to form a master jury database and write a computer program so that a random selection of jurors can be made. A discrimination shall not be exercised except for the elimination of persons who are not eligible for jury service. The administrative office of the courts shall provide specifications for the merging of the registered voter, driver's license and personal income tax filer databases to form the master jury database. The master jury database shall be the database that produces the random jury list for the selection of petit or grand jurors for the state courts.

C. The secretary of veterans' services and the adjutant general of the department of military affairs shall make available, by electronic media, to the administrative office of the courts a database of service members who were killed or missing in action during military service, which shall be updated every six months. The administrative office of the courts shall remove the names of service members who were killed or missing in action during military service from the master jury database that produces the random jury list for the state courts.

D. The court shall, by order, designate the number of potential jurors to be selected and the date on which the jurors are to report for empaneling. Within fifteen days after receipt of a copy of the order, the administrative office of the courts shall provide the random jury list to the court. The department of information technology shall print the random jury list and jury summons mailer forms within ten days after receiving the request from the administrative office of the courts. Upon issuance of the order, the department of information technology shall draw from the most current registered voter, driver's license and personal income tax filer databases to create the random jury list.

E. The department of information technology may transfer the master jury database to a court that has compatible equipment to accept such a transfer. The court accepting the master jury database shall transfer the information to a programmed computer used for the random selection of petit or grand jurors.

History: 1978 Comp., § 38-5-3, enacted by Laws 1991, ch. 71, § 2; 2005, ch. 107, § 6; 2007, ch. 290, § 25; 2009, ch. 157, § 1; 2011, ch. 26, § 1.

Repeals and reenactments. — Laws 1991, ch. 71, § 2 repealed former 38-5-3 NMSA 1978, as enacted by Laws 1969, ch. 222, § 3, relating to pollbooks as the source for juror selection, and enacted a new section, effective April 1, 1991.

The 2011 amendment, effective June 17, 2011, required the administrative office of the courts to remove the names of service members who are killed or missing in action during military service from the master jury database.

The 2009 amendment, effective June 19, 2009, in Subsection A, in the second, third and fourth sentences, after "which shall be updated", deleted "monthly" and added "every six months", and added the last sentence.

The 2007 amendment, effective July 1, 2007, changed the name of the information systems division of the general services department to the department of technology information.

The 2005 amendment, effective July 1, 2005, provided in Subsection A that the secretary of the taxation and revenue shall make available to the information systems division of the general services department a database of personal income tax filers by county; and in Subsection B, provided that the division shall merge the registered voter, driver's license and personal income tax filer databases in each county to form a master jury data base.

Time allowed to place names of newly enfranchised persons on jury lists. — When a new group is qualified to sit as jurors, a period of time will be allowed for their names to begin to appear on the jury lists. State v. Barnett, 1973-NMCA-098, 85 N.M. 404, 512 P.2d 977.

Possible two-year period which could elapse under this section before the names of newly enfranchised individuals begin to appear on jury lists is not so long as to deny defendant his right to due process. State v. Barnett, 1973-NMCA-098, 85 N.M. 404, 512 P.2d 977.

Failure to include in pollbooks newly enfranchised persons prior to the next general election was not a denial of due process. State v. Barnett, 1973-NMCA-098, 85 N.M. 404, 512 P.2d 977.

Where the jury array did not include members of the then recently enfranchised class of persons between the ages of 18 and 21 years, defendant was not deprived of due process. State v. Barnett, 1973-NMCA-098, 85 N.M. 404, 512 P.2d 977.

Subsequent expansion to include nonvoters with driver's licenses. — The legislature's intent to wait until after the 1990 general election to enlarge the jury pool to include nonvoting citizens with driver's licenses was not inconsistent with defendant's constitutional rights. State v. Gonzales, 1991-NMSC-075, 112 N.M. 544, 817 P.2d 1186.

Defendant was not denied her right to a venire composed of voter registration and driver's license records as required by this section, where her trial took place before the expanded pool took effect. State v. Neely, 1991-NMSC-087, 112 N.M. 702, 819 P.2d 249.

Defendant was not denied his right to a venire composed from voter registration and driver's license records, since the plain language of this section required the jury pool to be expanded 90 days after the next general election and defendant's trial took place before the expanded pool took effect. State v. Chamberlain, 1991-NMSC-094, 112 N.M. 723, 819 P.2d 673.

Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. — 47 Am. Jur. 2d Jury § 100 et seq.

Proof as to exclusion of or discrimination against eligible class or race in respect to jury in criminal case, 1 A.L.R.2d 1291.

Validity of requirement or practice of selecting prospective jurors exclusively from list of registered voters, 80 A.L.R.3d 869.

Exclusion of women from grand or trial jury or jury panel in criminal case as violation of constitutional rights of accused or as ground for reversal of conviction - state cases, 70 A.L.R.5th 587.

50 C.J.S. Juries §§ 155 to 160.