An opinion piece in the Chron argues for reform, but against the reform now being proposed.
Harris County stands out as one of the only major metropolitan areas in the country and one of the few counties in Texas that still uses a "key-man" system for selecting grand jurors. Under this system, a judge selects a "commissioner" who then seeks volunteers for grand jury service. Not surprisingly, the grand juries that emerge from this process tend to reflect the race, gender and political leanings of the commissioners who seat them.
Grand juries serve an incredibly important role in our system of justice. They are responsible for screening the prosecution's facts and deciding whether to issue felony indictments. Grand jurors must meet certain minimum qualifications and must be willing to serve for a term of up to two days a week for three months for $40 per day. In the past, commissioners were typically acquaintances of judges, court personnel or even law enforcement officers. One court, for example, appointed the court bailiff to nominate jurors; another asked the court reporter to handle the task; and a third court used county probation officers to drum up "volunteers."
Once selected by a system that was predominantly white and conservative, commissioners tended to surprise! gravitate toward other white conservatives. Grand jurors were culled from meetings of civic organizations or the pews of churches attended by the commissioners. As a result, the racial makeup of Harris County grand juries simply did not reflect the community at large.
The authors call for a selection process that mirrors the process for selecting people for petit juries.
