Opinion
S117-cr-722 (VSB)
07-27-2022
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff, v. SAYFULLO HABIBULLAEVIC SAIPOV, Defendant.
ORDER
VERNON S. BRODERICK, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE:
On May 4, 2022, I held a conference in this case. At the conference, Defense Counsel asked about: (1) when the jury summonses will go out; (2) the materials that will go out with the jury summonses, including any new questions related to COVID; and (3) the process by which the Jury Clerk's Office excuses prospective jurors based on their responses. (Tr. 24:15-25:15.) I have conferred with the Jury Clerk's Office, and this Order will serve as answers to the aforementioned questions.
The Jury Clerk's Office follows procedures in accordance with 28 U.S.C. § 1861 et seq. and the Amended Plan for the Random Selection of Grand and Petit Jurors (Feb. 13, 2009), https://www.nysd.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/juryplanfeb2009.pdf (“Jury Plan”). Summoning jurors involves two main steps. First, the Jury Clerk's Office sends out a Juror Qualification Questionnaire (the “Questionnaire”) to prospective jurors randomly selected from voter registration lists. (See Jury Plan Art. III(D).) Attached as Exhibit A is a sample Questionnaire, with the juror's name, address, and participant number removed. The Questionnaire is meant to identify those qualified to serve on a jury. As qualified jurors are summoned for service and the pool of available jurors becomes depleted, the Jury Clerk's Office periodically sends the Questionnaire to a new set of randomly selected prospective jurors to replenish the pool. (See id.) The Jury Clerk's Office sent the Questionnaire to approximately 40,000 new prospective jurors in April 2022.
The Questionnaire currently contains 14 questions, none of which are related to COVID. (See Ex. A.) Questionnaire recipients are required to sign the document under penalty of perjury. If the Jury Clerk's Office identifies any “any omission, ambiguity, or error” in a returned Questionnaire that could affect whether the prospective juror is to be exempt or excused from jury service, the Jury Clerk's Office will “send it back with instructions to make such additions or corrections as may be necessary.” (Jury Plan Art. III(E).)
Prospective jurors who complete the Questionnaire and who are not exempted or excused as described above are added to the pool of qualified jurors. (See Jury Plan Art. III(F).) The Jury Clerk's Office then sends the actual Summons for Jury Service (the “Summons”) to qualified jurors. The Summons is attached to this Order as Exhibit B. The Summons contains instructions on how to report for jury duty and provides answers to frequently asked questions. While the Summons does not currently contain any questions related to COVID, the Summons includes a letter informing jurors of the steps that the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York is taking to protect prospective jurors and staff from exposure to COVID. The letter is attached to this Order as Exhibit C. The Summons is sent to prospective jurors four weeks prior to each reporting date.
SO ORDERED.
[Exhibit A, B & C Omitted]