Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure 409.5 – One day/one trial jury system
Terms Used In Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure 409.5
- Juror: A person who is on the jury.
- Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
- Trial jury: A group of citizens who hear the evidence presented by both sides at trial and determine the facts in dispute. Federal criminal juries consist of 12 persons. Federal civil juries consist of six persons.
- Voir dire: The process by which judges and lawyers select a petit jury from among those eligible to serve, by questioning them to determine knowledge of the facts of the case and a willingness to decide the case only on the evidence presented in court. "Voir dire" is a phrase meaning "to speak the truth."
A. A district court may, by local rules adopted by a majority vote of all the judges of that district, create and provide for the manner of administering a one day/one trial jury system for criminal and civil cases. The combined Orleans criminal and civil district courts shall be considered a district court for the purposes of this Article.
B. Unless otherwise provided in this Article, the jurors shall be selected and shall serve in accordance with the provisions of Code of Criminal Procedure Article 409.3.
C. Any juror selected pursuant to this Article shall serve in the central jury pool for a period of not more than one day unless he is selected to serve on a jury or unless extraordinary circumstances warrant, pursuant to local court rules, that he be held over for the continuation of voir dire. Any juror selected to serve on a jury shall serve until he is discharged from the jury.
D. Any district court which adopts rules pursuant to this Article is hereby authorized to provide for (1) audio-visual presentations for the purpose of orienting new jurors and (2) prequalification questionnaires to prospective jurors in order to assist those public officials responsible for selecting qualified jurors for the general venire and central jury pool.
E. No district court may adopt rules pursuant to this Article unless the court has previously determined by majority vote of all the judges that it has sufficient computer availability to assist in the overall management of a one day/one trial jury system.
Added by Acts 1981, No. 178, §1.