Georgia’s Jury Selection Process to Change July 1

Starting July 1, Georgia’s court system will change the way jury pools are chosen. The overhaul is the result of a change in state law and state Supreme Court rules. Currently, courts currently use a process called “balancing the box.” Michael Cuccaro, an assistant director with the administrative office of the courts of Georgia, says it’s an effort to make sure juries aren’t skewed by race or gender.

“You trim down lists of people who live in the county to make it look like the demographics of a particular county,” he explains, “And you compare it then to the last Census.”

Cuccaro says that process involved removing some potential jurors because of their age, sex or race. Starting next week, he says, the state will switch to an inclusive process,  where courts will try to find all of the eligible jurors in each county.