Section 4.2 General Statutory Provisions

• Library: Criminal Practice 2012 Supp

A. (§4.2) General Statutory Provisions

Chapter 540, RSMo, provides a statutory scheme in which a presiding judge of the circuit court, with the concurrence of the Board of Jury Commissioners, compiles a list of prospective grand jurors. Section 540.021.1, RSMo Supp. 2004. To ensure a representative grand jury, the master jury list shall be the result of a random selection of citizens gleaned from at least two government records sources, “including, but not limited to, [the] personal property tax list, voter’s registration list, and driver’s license records.” Section 494.410.2, RSMo Supp. 2004. The master list must contain at least 400 names. Section 494.410.1. The statutes were amended in 2003 to expand the pool from which prospective grand jurors may be called so as to more accurately reflect the ethnic diversity of the Missouri citizenry. The expanded pool helps ensure minority representation on grand juries.

Section 540.021 describes the...