Section 20.11 Right to Effective Assistance of Counsel—Jury Qualification Forms

• Library: Criminal Practice 2012 Supp

B. (§20.11) Right to Effective Assistance of Counsel—Jury Qualification Forms

Section 494.415, RSMo 2000, provides for the use of “Jury Qualification Forms.” These forms, containing instructions for completion, must be mailed to all persons selected for jury service. The statute provides that the forms are to be completed and returned to the court within ten days. Because the statute leaves it to each circuit court to develop its forms, with very little in the way of objective standards for the information to be obtained, the quality and scope of the information available from these forms varies widely from circuit to circuit. Section 494.415(3) provides that “any prospective juror who fails to return a completed juror...