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Section 1 – Application of Chapter to Particular Counties

Section 1. This chapter shall apply in every county in the commonwealth which has been designated as a participating county as hereinafter provided. Middlesex county shall be a participating county as of the effective date of this chapter. The supreme judicial court shall designate such further participating counties and the dates on which the various […]

Section 10 – Numbered Resident List

Section 10. On or before the first day of June of each year, each city and town shall make a sequentially numbered list of the names, addresses, and dates of birth of all persons who were seventeen years of age or older as of the first day of January of the current year and who […]

Section 11 – Numbered Resident File

Section 11. On or before the first day of June of each year, each city and town having twenty thousand or more residents on its numbered resident list shall submit to the office of jury commissioner an automated copy of such list. Such automated copy, hereinafter in this chapter referred to as the ”numbered resident […]

Section 12 – Number of Prospective Jurors

Section 12. On or before the first day of July of each year, the office of jury commissioner shall determine the number of prospective jurors to be drawn from each city and town. This number shall be as nearly as possible equal to the ratio of the population of the city or town to the […]

Section 13 – Random Selection of Prospective Jurors

Section 13. On or before the first day of September of each year, the office of the jury commissioner shall randomly select prospective jurors for each city and town from the corresponding numbered resident list or numbered resident file. Each such numbered resident, so identified and selected, shall be a prospective juror of the city […]

Section 15 – Preparation of Prospective Juror List

Section 15. On or before the first day of September of each year, the office of jury commissioner shall prepare the prospective juror list for each city and town. Each list shall contain the names, addresses, dates of birth, and related information for all randomly selected prospective jurors from the city or town. The list […]

Section 16 – Master Juror List; Random Shuffling; Summoning Jurors in Sequence

Section 16. On or before the first day of October of each year, the office of jury commissioner shall prepare the master juror list for each judicial district. The master juror list for a judicial district shall contain the aggregate of all prospective juror lists of cities and towns within the judicial district. The office […]

Section 17 – Letter of Venire

Section 17. At least twelve weeks prior to the time when the services of grand or trial jurors are required, the clerk of each court requiring such jurors shall send or deliver a letter of venire to the office of jury commissioner. The letter of venire shall state the number of jurors required for grand […]

Section 18 – Discretionary Determination of Number of Jurors to Be Summoned

Section 18. At least twelve weeks prior to the commencement of any term of grand or trial juror service, the jury commissioner shall determine, as a matter of discretion, the numbers of jurors to be summoned from each judicial district for grand and trial juror service. In making these discretionary determinations, the jury commissioner shall […]

Section 19 – Juror Summons; Contents; Postcard Summons

Section 19. At least twelve weeks prior to the commencement of any term of grand or trial juror service, the office of jury commissioner shall summon by first-class mail, grand and trial jurors from the corresponding master juror list to appear for juror service within each judicial district. The summons shall state whether the anticipated […]

Section 2 – Judicial Districts; Eligibility for Jury Service

Section 2. The judicial districts for purposes of this chapter shall be the counties unless modified by the supreme judicial court. The supreme judicial court may, by rule of court, define judicial districts for purposes of this chapter which differ in geographical area and population from the counties in accordance with the following principles: a […]

Section 20 – Notice of Qualifications for Juror Service for Each Juror Summoned

Section 20. The office of jury commissioner shall provide a notice of qualifications for juror service to each juror summoned under the provisions of this chapter. A summary of section four of this chapter shall be included in the said notice. This notice shall contain any further information and directions that the jury commissioner deems […]

Section 22 – Confidential Juror Questionnaire for Each Prospective Juror

Section 22. The office of jury commissioner shall provide a confidential juror questionnaire to each prospective juror. The information elicited by the questionnaire shall be such information as is ordinarily raised in voir dire examinations of jurors, including the juror’s name, sex, age, residence, marital status, number and ages of children, education level, occupation, employment […]

Section 23 – Use of Juror Questionnaire During Voir Dire

Section 23. Unless the court orders otherwise, the clerk of court or an assistant clerk shall provide copies of the appropriate completed questionnaires to the trial judge and counsel for use during voir dire. Except for disclosures made during voir dire or unless the court orders otherwise, the information inserted by jurors in the questionnaires […]

Section 25 – Final Summons

Section 25. Each grand and trial juror from whom the office of jury commissioner has not received a response to the juror summons by the eighth week preceding the term of service for which the juror was summoned shall be summoned a final time. The final summons shall have the same content and form as […]

Section 27 – Time and Manner of Service of Additional Jurors

Section 27. The office of jury commissioner may summon additional grand and trial jurors to appear for juror service forthwith or at a time certain, with or without the right of postponement of juror service, with or without the opportunity to change the selection of the courthouse to which the juror has been assigned, in […]