Opinion
CRIMINAL ACTION 18-cr-00381-CMA-GPG-01
09-01-2022
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff, v. 1. BRUCE HOLDER, Defendant.
ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANT'S EXPEDITED MOTION FOR SUPPLEMENTAL ORDER REGARDING THE DISCLOSURE OF GRAND AND PETIT JURY SELECTION RECORDS
CHRISTINE M. ARGUELLO SENIOR UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
This matter is before the Court on Defendant Bruce Holder's Expedited Motion for Supplemental Order Regarding the Disclosure of Grand and Petit Jury Selection Records and Notice of Intent to Challenge Jury Selection Procedures. (Doc. # 694.) The Court incorporates by reference its summary of the factual background and procedural history of this case and of Mr. Holder's prior requests for disclosure of jury records as recited in the February 16, 2022 Order Granting in Part and Denying in Part Defendant's Motions for Disclosure of Grand and Petit Jury Selection Records (Doc. # 675).
In the instant Motion, Mr. Holder seeks two additional sets of data in order for his expert witness, Jeffrey Martin, to complete his analysis for purposes of Mr. Holder's challenge of jury selection procedures. (Doc. # 694 at 2.) First, Mr. Holder requests the unredacted version of the merged source list of the 2015 and 2017 master jury wheels for Division Three (Grand Junction) so that Mr. Martin may identify duplicates of listed individuals. (Id. at 2-3.) In its February 16, 2022 Order, the Court ordered production of this data with “jurors' names, street addresses, dates of birth (other than year) and any other personal identifying information” redacted. (Doc. # 675 at 6.) Mr. Holder now seeks the unredacted data subject to a protective order. (Doc. # 694 at 3.) Mindful of the need to balance Mr. Holder's right to prepare a fair cross section challenge with the Court's obligation to protect the personal identifying information of jurors, the Court grants this request subject to the following restrictions. The unredacted data shall be viewed only by Mr. Holder's counsel, expert, and the Government for the limited purpose of identifying duplicates of listed individuals on the master wheel. Mr. Holder's counsel, expert, and the Government shall keep the unredacted data confidential and shall not disclose it to any other person.
Second, Mr. Holder requests “data that would identify and/or quantify the number of inactive voters in the Denver District who have been removed from the [2019] wheel” for Jury Division One (Denver). (Id.) The Clerk has advised the Court that the records provided by the Secretary of State's office used to create the wheel do not include inactive voters. Therefore, the Clerk has not removed any inactive voters from the wheel. To the extent Mr. Holder seeks “documents reflecting the calculation of the number of potential jurors” for the 2019 wheel used to summon the petit jury that served at Mr. Holder's criminal trial, the Court finds that this information is relevant to reflect the methods or procedures used by the Clerk in connection with the jury selection process and grants the request.
Accordingly, it is ORDERED that Mr. Holder's Expedited Motion for Supplemental Order Regarding the Disclosure of Grant and Petit Jury Selection Records and Notice of Intent to Challenge Jury Selection Procedures (Doc. # 694) is GRANTED.
The Clerk of Court is directed to provide the records for the granted requests to Mr. Holder's counsel and the Government within seven (7) days of the date of this Order.
It is FURTHER ORDERED that the information provided pursuant to this Order shall be disclosed and used only in connection with the preparation and possible filing of a motion in this case challenging the grand jury and petit jury selection procedures. The information provided by the Clerk may not be disclosed, shown, or transmitted in any way to third parties, but may be reviewed by Mr. Holder's attorneys, experts, and staff assisting his attorneys in the preparation of a motion challenging jury selection procedures. Counsel, their staff, experts, and the Government are reminded that “[a]ny person who discloses the contents of any record or paper in violation of this subsection may be fined not more than $1,000 or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.” 28 U.S.C. § 1867(f).