CHAPTER 607A
JURIES

 
See also R.C.P. 1.915 – 1.918 and R.Cr.P. 2.18

  607A.1  Declaration of policy.
  It is the policy of this state that all persons be selected at random from a fair cross section of the population of the area served by the court, and that a person shall have both the opportunity in accordance with the provisions of law to be considered for jury service in this state and the obligation to serve as a juror when selected.
86 Acts, ch 1108, §9
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  607A.2  Prohibition of discrimination.
  A person shall not be excluded from jury service or from consideration for jury service in this state on account of age if the person is eighteen years of age or older, race, creed, color, sex, national origin, religion, economic status, physical disability, or occupation.
86 Acts, ch 1108, §10
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  607A.3  Definitions.
  As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:
  1.  “Clerk” means clerk of the district court or the clerk’s designee.
  2.  “Court” means the district court of this state and includes, when the context requires, a judicial officer as defined in section 602.1101.
  3.  “Juror” means any person selected for service on either the grand or petit jury who attends court when originally instructed to report or is deferred to a future date uncertain, or is on-call and available to report to court when so needed and so requested by the court.
  4.  “Jury wheel” means a physical device or electronic data processing system for storage of the names and addresses or identifying numbers of prospective jurors.
  5.  “Master list” means the list of names taken from the source lists for possible jury service.
  6.  “Motor vehicle operators list” means the official records maintained by the state of the names and addresses of those individuals in the respective counties retaining valid motor vehicle operator’s licenses on or before March 15 of each odd-numbered year.
  7.  “Panel” means those jurors drawn or assigned for service to a courtroom, judge, or trial.
  8.  “Person with a disability” means a person who is not physically able to operate a motor vehicle or use public transportation without assistance due to a physical disability.
  9.  “Pool” means the sum total of prospective jurors reporting for service and not drawn or assigned to a courtroom, judge or trial.
  10.  “Random selection” means the selection of names in a manner immune to any subjective bias so that no recognizable class of the population from which names are being selected can be purposefully included or excluded.
  11.  “Source lists” means the voter registration list, the motor vehicle operators list and other comprehensive lists of persons residing in a county as identified pursuant to section 607A.22.
  12.  “Term of service” means the period of time a juror is requested to serve.
  13.  “Voter registration list” means the official records maintained by the state of names and addresses of persons registered to vote on or before March 15 of each odd-numbered year.
86 Acts, ch 1108, §11; 87 Acts, ch 85, §1, 2; 90 Acts, ch 1233, §37; 96 Acts, ch 1163, §1; 96 Acts, ch 1219, §31

  607A.4  Jury service — minimum qualifications — disqualification — documentation.
  1.  To serve or to be considered for jury service, a person must possess the following minimum qualifications:
  a.  Be eighteen years of age or older.
  b.  Be a citizen of the United States.
  c.  Be able to understand the English language in a written, spoken, or manually signed mode.
  d.  Be able to receive and evaluate information such that the person is capable of rendering satisfactory juror service.
  2.  However, a person possessing the minimum qualifications for service or consideration for service may be disqualified for service or consideration for service if the person has, directly or indirectly, requested to be placed on a list for juror service.
  3.  A person who claims disqualification for any of the grounds identified in this section may, upon the person’s own volition, or shall, upon the court’s volition, submit in writing to the court’s satisfaction, documentation that verifies disqualification from juror service.
86 Acts, ch 1108, §12
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  607A.5  Automatic excuse from jury service.
  A person shall be excused from jury service if the person submits written documentation verifying, to the court’s satisfaction, that the person is solely responsible for the daily care of a person with a permanent disability living in the person’s household and that the performance of juror service would cause substantial risk of injury to the health of the person with a disability, or that the person is the mother of a breastfed child and is responsible for the daily care of the child. However, if the person is regularly employed at a location other than the person’s household, the person shall not be excused under this section.
86 Acts, ch 1108, §13; 94 Acts, ch 1196, §22; 96 Acts, ch 1129, §104

  607A.6  Discretionary excuse from jury service.
  The court may defer a term of grand or petit juror service upon a finding of hardship, inconvenience, or public necessity; however the juror may be required to serve at a later date established by the court. The court may excuse a person from grand juror service, considering the length of grand juror service, in part or in full, upon a finding that such service would threaten the person’s economic, physical, or emotional well-being, or the well-being of another person who is dependent upon the person, or other similar findings of extreme hardship. The courts shall exercise this authority strictly. However, in exercising this authority the court shall allow the employer of the person being asked to serve to give testimony in support of a request by the person for deferral or excuse. The court may dismiss a juror at any time in the interest of justice.
86 Acts, ch 1108, §14
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  607A.7  False excuse — prohibited requests — penalty.
  A person who knowingly makes a false affidavit, statement, or claim, for the purpose of relieving the person or another person from juror service, or a person who requests the court to select the person as a juror for a particular case, commits contempt.
86 Acts, ch 1108, §15

  607A.8  Fees and expenses for jurors.
  1.  A grand juror and a petit juror in all courts shall receive thirty dollars as compensation for each day’s service or attendance, including attendance required for the purpose of being considered for service. The supreme court may adopt rules that allow additional compensation for jurors whose attendance and service exceeds seven days.
  2.  A grand juror and a petit juror in all courts shall receive reimbursement for mileage expenses at the rate specified by the supreme court for each mile traveled each day to and from the residence of the juror to the place of service or attendance, and shall receive reimbursement for actual expenses of parking, as determined by the clerk of the district court. A juror who is a person with a disability may receive reimbursement for the costs of alternate transportation from the residence of the juror to the place of service or attendance. A juror shall not receive reimbursement for mileage expenses or actual expenses of parking when the juror travels in a vehicle for which another juror is receiving reimbursement for mileage and parking expenses.
  3.  A grand juror or a petit juror in all courts may waive the right of the juror to receive compensation under subsection 1 or reimbursement under subsection 2.
86 Acts, ch 1108, §16; 96 Acts, ch 1163, §2; 96 Acts, ch 1219, §32; 2005 Acts, ch 171, §8; 2007 Acts, ch 210, §4; 2010 Acts, ch 1159, §11
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  607A.9  Ex officio commissions.
  In counties utilizing a jury commission for the drawing of jurors, the clerk of the district court and the county auditor shall ex officio constitute the jury commission but shall receive no extra compensation for acting as jury commissioners. If any of the above offices have been consolidated, the chief judge of the judicial district shall select another elected county officer to serve as a jury commissioner.
86 Acts, ch 1108, §17; 2003 Acts, ch 5, §4
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  607A.10  Appointive commission — master list.
  In each county, the chief judge of the judicial district in which the county is located shall, on or before March 1 of each odd-numbered year, appoint three competent electors as a jury commission to draw up the master list for the two years beginning the following July 1. The names for the master list shall be taken from the source lists. If all of the source lists are not used to draw up the master list, then the names drawn must be selected in a random manner.
86 Acts, ch 1108, §18; 87 Acts, ch 85, §3; 2000 Acts, ch 1057, §13

  607A.11  Limitation on appointment.
  More than two members of the appointive commission shall not be residents of the city in which the courthouse of the county in which they are appointed, is located, and a person shall not be appointed who has solicited the appointment; nor shall any county officer or attorney at law be appointed a member of the commission.
86 Acts, ch 1108, §19

  607A.12  Manner of appointment.
  The appointment shall be in writing signed by the chief judge of the judicial district and shall be filed and made a matter of record in the office of the clerk of the district court.
86 Acts, ch 1108, §20; 2000 Acts, ch 1057, §14

  607A.13  Clerk to notify.
  The clerk of the district court shall at once notify each appointive commissioner of the appointment.
86 Acts, ch 1108, §21
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  607A.14  Vacancy.
  If a vacancy occurs in the appointive commission through death, removal, or inability of a member of the commission to act, the chief judge of the judicial district shall appoint a person to act during the remainder of the unexpired term.
86 Acts, ch 1108, §22; 2000 Acts, ch 1057, §15

  607A.15  Qualification — tenure.
  The appointive commissioners shall qualify on or before the tenth day of March, following their appointment, by taking the oath of office required of civil officers. The oath shall be subscribed by them and filed in the office of the clerk of the district court. They shall hold office for the term of two years and until their successors are duly appointed and qualified.
86 Acts, ch 1108, §23; 87 Acts, ch 85, §4

  607A.16  Instructions to appointive commission.
  The chief judge of the judicial district shall give instructions to appointive jury commissioners at the time of their appointment as to their duties, and shall call their attention to sections 607A.1, 607A.2, 607A.4 and 607A.22.
86 Acts, ch 1108, §24; 2000 Acts, ch 1057, §16

  607A.17  Compensation and expenses.
  Each appointive commissioner shall, in addition to actual expenses, receive a compensation of ten dollars for each day employed by the appointive commissioner in the discharge of the appointive commissioner’s official duties.
86 Acts, ch 1108, §25

  607A.18  Assistants.
  The commissioners may employ assistants in preparing the jury lists as they may deem necessary, and the board of supervisors shall allow reasonable compensation to the assistants.
86 Acts, ch 1108, §26

  607A.19  Jury commissions not required.
  In counties utilizing electronic data processing techniques and equipment for the drawing of jurors, ex officio or appointive jury commissions need not be appointed provided that proper records are retained by the jury manager that document, to the court’s satisfaction, that the procedures utilized to randomly select the names of the prospective petit and grand jurors meet the requirements of this chapter. The decision to use electronic data processing techniques and equipment in lieu of a jury commission shall be made by the chief judge of the judicial district in which the county is located.
86 Acts, ch 1108, §27

  607A.20  Jury manager.
  If the chief judge of the judicial district uses electronic data processing techniques and equipment for the drawing of jurors in lieu of a jury commission, the chief judge shall, after consultation with the clerk, district court administrator and county auditor, appoint an individual to serve as the jury manager for the county. The jury manager shall be responsible for the implementation of this chapter for the county. The jury manager shall update the master list from the source lists at least once every two years beginning January 1 after the general election is held.
86 Acts, ch 1108, §28

  607A.21  Jury lists.
  The appointive jury commission or jury manager shall select and return to the clerk of the district court the following:
  1.  The list of grand jurors:  A list of names and addresses of one hundred and fifty persons selected from the source lists from which to draw grand jurors.
  2.  The list of petit jurors:  A list of names and addresses of persons selected from the source lists equal to the number of names necessary to provide jurors needed by the court, with the number to be determined by the jury commission or jury manager.
86 Acts, ch 1108, §29; 87 Acts, ch 85, §5
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  607A.22  Use of source lists — information provided.
  The appointive jury commission or the jury manager shall use both of the following source lists in preparing grand and petit jury lists:
  1.  The current voter registration list.
  2.  The current motor vehicle operators list.
  The appointive jury commission or the jury manager may use any other current comprehensive list of persons residing in the county, including but not limited to the lists of public utility customers, which the appointive jury commission or jury manager determines are useable for the purpose of a juror source list.
  The applicable state and local government officials shall furnish, upon request, the appointive jury commission or jury manager with copies of lists necessary for the formulation of source lists at no cost to the commission, manager, or county.
  The jury manager or jury commission may request a consolidated source list. A consolidated source list contains all the names and addresses found in either the voter registration list or the motor vehicle operators list, but does not duplicate an individual’s name within the consolidated list. State officials shall cooperate with one another to prepare consolidated lists. The jury manager or jury commission may further request that only a randomly chosen portion of the consolidated list be prepared which may consist of either a certain number of names or a certain percentage of all the names in the consolidated list, as specified by the jury manager or jury commission.
86 Acts, ch 1108, §30; 87 Acts, ch 85, §6; 92 Acts, ch 1093, §1
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  607A.23  Judicial division of county.
  In counties which are divided for judicial purposes, and in which court is held at more than one place, each division shall be treated as a separate county, and the grand and petit jurors, selected to serve in the respective courts, shall be drawn from the division of the county in which the court is held and at which the persons are required to serve.
86 Acts, ch 1108, §31
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  607A.24  Certification.
  The jury lists required to be prepared by this chapter shall be certified by the appointive jury commission or the jury manager in substantially the following form:
  We/I, ................................ constituting the jury commission/the jury manager for ........................ county, certify that the foregoing lists do not, to our/my knowledge and belief, contain the name of any person who is not qualified for juror service under Iowa Code section 607A.4 and that the lists were selected in compliance with Iowa Code sections 607A.1, 607A.2, and 607A.21 through 607A.23.
86 Acts, ch 1108, §32

  607A.25  Filing of lists.
  The appointive jury commission or jury manager, after certifying the jury lists, shall place the lists in sealed containers, and deposit the lists in the office of the clerk or jury manager who shall keep them in a secure area. The lists may also be stored by means of electronic data processing procedures and equipment.
86 Acts, ch 1108, §33

  607A.26  Preservation of records.
  The clerk or jury manager shall preserve all records and lists compiled and maintained in connection with the selection and service of jurors for four years, or for any longer period ordered by the chief judge of the judicial district.
86 Acts, ch 1108, §34

  607A.27  Preparation for drawing of panels.
  The names entered upon the appointive jury commission’s or jury manager’s lists and deposited in the office of the clerk or jury manager constitute the grand and petit master lists, from which grand and petit jurors shall be drawn.
  Within ten days after the lists are deposited in the office of the clerk or jury manager, the clerk or jury manager shall do either of the following:
  1.  Prepare from the lists separate ballots, uniform in size, shape, and appearance, and folded to conceal information on the ballot. The ballots for grand and petit jurors shall be kept separate and each ballot shall contain the name and place of residence of each prospective juror.
  2.  Use electronic data processing equipment for the storage of names of the grand and petit jurors. The numerical division required in section 607A.21 need not be used when a jury wheel is used for the preparation of the lists.
86 Acts, ch 1108, §35

  607A.28  Ballot boxes — sealed and custody — security of programs.
  In counties using an ex officio jury commission, the ballots containing the names of the grand and petit jurors shall be deposited in separate boxes which shall be plainly marked to show the class of jurors whose names are contained in each box, and shall have only one aperture through which a hand may be inserted. The boxes shall then be sealed by the auditor, in the presence of the clerk, and deposited with the clerk or jury manager.
  In counties using a jury manager, the lists containing the names of the grand and petit jurors shall be stored electronically or manually processed by the jury manager and shall be accessible to only the manager or the manager’s designee.
86 Acts, ch 1108, §36

  607A.29  Length of service.
  In any two-year period, a person shall not be required:
  1.  To serve or attend court for prospective juror service for more than a term of service ordered by the court, not to exceed three months, unless necessary to complete service in a particular case.
  2.  To serve on more than one grand jury.
  3.  To serve or attend as both a grand and a petit juror.
86 Acts, ch 1108, §37

  607A.30  Time of drawing.
  In counties using an ex officio jury commission, the required number of jurors shall be drawn by the commission, or a majority of its members, at the office of the clerk at a time agreed to by the commissioners.
  In counties using a jury manager, the manager shall arrange for the selection of the required number of jurors at a time and place chosen by the manager.
  The chief judge of the judicial district may by order prescribe the time for the drawing by the ex officio commission or the manager.
  The jurors thus selected constitute the jury pool and shall be notified by the clerk or jury manager by regular mail when called.
86 Acts, ch 1108, §38

  607A.31  Notice of drawing.
  In counties using ex officio jury commissions, the clerk, at least five days prior to the day for drawing, shall notify in writing the other jury commissioners of the time and place of the drawing.
86 Acts, ch 1108, §39

  607A.32  Absence of commissioner.
  In counties using an ex officio jury commission, in the absence or inability to act of any one of the commissioners, the jury commissioner’s deputy or designee shall act as the commissioner.
86 Acts, ch 1108, §40

  607A.33  Details of drawing.
  1.  In counties using an ex officio jury commission, at the time of drawing the appropriate ballot box shall first be thoroughly shaken in the presence of the commissioners attending the drawing. Next, the seal on the opening of the box shall be broken in the presence of the commissioners. A commissioner shall then, without looking at the ballots, successively draw the required number of names from the box, and successively pass the ballots to another commissioner, who shall open the ballots as they are drawn, and read aloud the names on the ballots, and enter the names in writing on the appropriate list.
  2.  In counties using a jury manager, a computerized program for the random selection and printing of the names may be used to draw the required number of jurors needed.
86 Acts, ch 1108, §41
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  607A.34  Resealing of box.
  In counties using an ex officio jury commission, after the required number of grand or petit jurors have been drawn in the manner provided, and their names entered on the lists, the ballot box or boxes shall again be sealed by the commissioners and returned to the custody of the clerk.
86 Acts, ch 1108, §42

  607A.35  Filing list — notice to report.
  After the list or lists have been drawn in the manner provided in section 607A.33, the list or lists shall be filed in the office of the clerk or jury manager and immediately upon the request of the court the clerk or manager shall issue a notice to report, by regular mail, to the persons so drawn to appear at the courthouse at times as the court prescribes, for service as petit or grand jurors.
86 Acts, ch 1108, §43

  607A.36  Contempt.
  If a person fails to appear when notified to report or at a regularly scheduled meeting, without providing a sufficient cause, the court may issue an order requiring the person to appear and show cause why the person should not be punished for contempt, and unless the person provides a sufficient cause for the failure, the person may be punished for contempt.
86 Acts, ch 1108, §44

  607A.37  Cancellation for illegality.
  If the court determines that the petit or grand jurors have been illegally selected, drawn, or notified to report, the court may set aside the order under which the jurors were notified and direct that a new drawing, selection and notification of a sufficient number of replacement jurors take place. In that case, the ex officio jury commission shall meet at the office of the clerk, at the time the court directs, and proceed in the manner provided for the drawing of the original panel, to draw the required number of replacement jurors.
86 Acts, ch 1108, §45

  607A.38  Discharged jurors — notification.
  Jurors who have been discharged for any reason may, during the calendar quarter, be instructed to again report if the business of the court necessitates such action.
86 Acts, ch 1108, §46

  607A.39  Additional jurors.
  The court may order as many additional jurors drawn for a pool or panel as the court deems necessary.
86 Acts, ch 1108, §47
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  607A.40  Discharge of panel.
  The court may at any time discharge the panel of jurors, or any part of it, and order a new panel, or the number of jurors as deemed necessary, to be drawn.
86 Acts, ch 1108, §48
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  607A.41  Method of subsequent drawing.
  The names of the jurors drawn under sections 607A.39 and 607A.40 shall be drawn by the ex officio commission or the jury manager in the manner provided for the drawing of an original pool or panel.
86 Acts, ch 1108, §49

  607A.42  Disposition of names drawn.
  The names of prospective jurors who have been drawn and are eligible to serve on the petit or grand jury and who do not serve shall be omitted from the respective ballot box or selection program.
  At the discretion of the court, the jury manager, or the clerk, a person excused from service on one panel may be required to serve on a succeeding panel if the reason for the person’s being excused is authorized under section 607A.6. In counties using an ex officio jury commission, the ballots of jurors who appear and serve during any term of service shall be destroyed. In counties using a jury manager, the names of jurors who appear and serve during any term of service shall be stricken from the selection program.
86 Acts, ch 1108, §50

  607A.43  Correcting illegality in original lists.
  If the court for any reason determines that there has been such substantial failure to comply with the law relative to selection, preparation, or return of grand or petit lists that lawful grand or petit jurors cannot be drawn, or that the lists are exhausted or insufficient for the needs of the court, the court shall order the ex officio jury commission or the jury manager to convene at a fixed time and place to prepare lists in lieu of the lists which have been found to be illegal, or an additional list or lists as the court deems necessary.
86 Acts, ch 1108, §51

  607A.44  Notice to ex officio jury commission or jury manager.
  If the commission or manager is required to meet for the purpose of drawing jurors under the order of the court, the clerk shall at once notify each commissioner or the jury manager of the order, if appropriate, and the time and place fixed for the meeting and, if necessary, the court may order the notice to be served by the sheriff.
86 Acts, ch 1108, §52
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  607A.45  Employer prohibited from penalizing employee — penalty — action for lost wages.
  1.  An employer shall not deprive an employee of employment or threaten or otherwise coerce an employee with respect to the employee’s employment because the employee receives a notice to report, responds to the notice, serves as a juror, or attends court for prospective juror service. An employer who violates this subsection commits contempt.
  2.  If an employer discharges an employee in violation of subsection 1, the employee may within sixty days of the discharge bring a civil action for the recovery of wages lost as a result of the violation and for an order requiring the reinstatement of the employee. Damages recoverable shall not exceed lost wages for a period of six weeks. If the employee prevails, the employee shall be allowed reasonable attorney fees as determined by the court.
86 Acts, ch 1108, §53

  607A.46  Delinquency of officers.
  A judicial officer, court employee, or other governmental official who intentionally fails to perform a legal duty imposed by this chapter, or who acts with willful malfeasance in the discharge of a legal duty imposed by this chapter, commits a serious misdemeanor.
86 Acts, ch 1108, §54

  607A.47  Juror questionnaire.
  The court may, on its own motion, or upon the motion of a party to the case or upon the request of a juror, order the sealing or partial sealing of a completed juror questionnaire, if the court finds that it is necessary to protect the safety or privacy of a juror or a family member of a juror.
2007 Acts, ch 210, §5