Opinion

Wade v. State

  • 529 S.W.2d 739
  • 1975 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 289
Court
Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee
Filed
Aug 20, 1975
Status
Published
Author
Templeton
On the bench
Duncan, Dwyer, Templeton
Cited by
15 cases

The opinion

JOHN D. TEMPLETON, Special Judge

(concurring).

I concur in Judge Dwyer’s opinion but I would add this respecting the second assignment of error. I think it was error to allow the clerk to call jurors from the panel to the jury box in whatever order he chose but it was harmless error.

ín England the rule concerning selecting jurors from the panel was, “ . . that their names being written on tickets, shall be put in a box or glass; and when each cause is called, twelve of these persons, whose names shall be first drawn out of the box, shall be sworn upon the jury, unless absent, challenged, or excused . . .”. Blackstone’s Commentaries, Book 3, Page 358. Our statute plainly requires selection of names from the panel by chance. T.C.A. 40-2506. This process is generally used elsewhere in our country. 47 Am.Jur.2d, Jury, See. 141.

In the case before us the clerk did not act corruptly or out of any interest or improper motive but merely to divide the work among the members of the panel. It is not shown that challenges were exhausted. Defendants were not prejudiced. I am satisfied the error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt.

This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.

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