In U.S. v. Carmichael, No. 07-11400 (March 5, 2009), the Court rejected the defendant’s challenge to the validity of his Alabama jury venire.
The Court recognized that as a result of errors and technical glitches, the Jury Administrator re-summoned more than 15% of previously deferred jurors, a court-imposed limit that was designed to prevent jury venires from being disproportionately white. However, these deferred jurors were not given a preferential position but were selected at random for venires. Thus, the violation was not substantial.
The Court also rejected a challenge to the voter list-based jury pool under the Jury Selection and Service Act, finding no requirement in this Act for voter list supplementation when they result in over- or under-representation of certain groups.
Finally, the Court rejected Carmichael’s Sixth Amendment "fair cross-section" challenge to the jury pool, finding that he had failed to establish a disparity of 10% or more between eligible and actual African American jurors in the local population.
