Test v. United States 8212 5993

Decision Date27 January 1975
Docket NumberNo. 73,73
Citation420 U.S. 28,42 L.Ed.2d 786,95 S.Ct. 749
PartiesJohn E. TEST, Petitioner, v. UNITED STATES. —5993
CourtU.S. Supreme Court

Walter L. Gerash, Denver, Colo., for petitioner.

William L. Patton, Boston, Mass., for respondent.

PER CURIAM.

Petitioner was convicted under 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) for distribution of a hallucinogenic drug commonly known as LSD. Prior to trial he filed a motion to dismiss his indictment claiming that the master lists1 from which his grand jury had been, and petit jury would be, selected systematically excluded disproportionate numbers of people with Spanish surnames, students, and balcks. These exclusions, petitioner alleged, violated both his Sixth Amendment right to an impartial jury and the provisions of the Jury Selection and Service Act of 1968, 28 U.S.C. § 1861 et seq. Attached to this motion was an affidavit by petitioner's counsel stating facts that had been disclosed by testimony at a jury challenge in another case, and which petitioner claimed supported his challenge. Also accompanying the motion was another motion requesting permission to inspect and copy the jury lists 'pertaining to the grand and petit juries in the instant indictment.' Petitioner asserted that inspection was necessary for discovering evidence to buttress his claims.

The District Court rejected the jury challenge and denied the motion to inspect the lists. Petitioner renewed his claims before the Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit but that court affirmed his conviction without discussing these issues. We granted certiorari to decide whether the Jury Selection and Service Act required that petitioner be permitted to inspect the jury lists. 417 U.S. 967, 95 S.Ct. 3170, 41 L.Ed.2d 1138.

In its brief and oral argument before this Court, the United States has agreed that petitioner was erroneously denied access to the lists and urges us to remand the case. We also agree with petitioner.2 Section 1867(f) of the Act, in relevant part, provides:

'The contents of records or papers used by the jury commission or clerk in connection with the jury selection process shall not be disclosed, except . . . as may be necessary in the preparation or presentation of a motion (challenging compliance with selection procedures) under . . . this section. . . . The parties in a case shall be allowed to inspect, reproduce, and copy such records or papers at all reasonable times during the preparation and pendency of such a motion. . . .' (Emphasis supplied.)

This provision makes clear that a litigant3 has essentially an unqualified right to inspect jury lists.4 It grants access in order to aid parties in the 'preparation' of motions challenging jury-selection procedures. Indeed, without inspection, a party almost invariably would be unable to determine whether he has a potentially meritorious jury...

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136 cases
  • Gause v. U.S.
    • United States
    • D.C. Court of Appeals
    • October 30, 2008
    ...by analogy to the appeals presently before us. The leading authority construing the federal statute is Test v. United States, 420 U.S. 28, 95 S.Ct. 749, 42 L.Ed.2d 786 (1975) (per curiam). John E. Test, who had been charged with distribution of LSD, filed a Jury Motion in which he claimed t......
  • Runyon v. United States
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Virginia
    • January 19, 2017
    ...determine whether the jury selection process complied with statutory and constitutional law. See Test v. United States , 420 U.S. 28, 29–30, 95 S.Ct. 749, 42 L.Ed.2d 786 (1975) (per curiam). The ability to inspect such lists does not require meeting any burden or standard of proof. Here, tr......
  • U.S. v. McLernon
    • United States
    • U.S. Court of Appeals — Sixth Circuit
    • December 20, 1984
    ...that 28 U.S.C. Sec. 1867(f) (Supp.1984), grants a defendant an "unqualified right to inspect jury lists." Test v. United States, 420 U.S. 28, 95 S.Ct. 749, 42 L.Ed.2d 786 (1975). That section The contents of records or papers used by the jury commission or clerk in connection with the jury ......
  • United States v. Gruberg, 79 Crim. 447 (WCC).
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Southern District of New York
    • October 29, 1979
    ...see Deardorff at 1043, § 1867(f) gives defendant an unconditional right to inspect the relevant documents, Test v. United States, 420 U.S. 28, 95 S.Ct. 749, 42 L.Ed.2d 786 (1975) ("Test I); Govt. of Canal Zone v. Davis, 592 F.2d 887, 889 (5th Cir. 1979) (denial of motion to inspect under § ......
  • Request a trial to view additional results
3 books & journal articles
  • U.s. Supreme Court Decisions: 1974-1975
    • United States
    • Colorado Bar Association Colorado Lawyer No. 4-9, September 1975
    • Invalid date
    ...or all of them prospective only." c. Right to Inspect Jury Lists Under the Jury Selection and Service Act. Test v. United States, 420 U.S. 28, 95 S.Ct. 749, 42 L.Ed.2d 786 (1975): Petitioner was convicted under 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) (distribution of LSD). The trial court denied his motion t......
  • Trials
    • United States
    • Georgetown Law Journal No. 110-Annual Review, August 2022
    • August 1, 2022
    ...by the jury commission when such records are not published or otherwise available. See 28 U.S.C. § 1867(d), (f); see also Test v. U.S., 420 U.S. 28, 29-30 (1975) (per curiam) (defendant has “essentially an unqualif‌ied right to inspect jury lists”); see, e.g. , U.S. v. Orlando-Figueroa, 229......
  • Jury Selection in the Age of COVID-19. Peeking inside a black box of potential constitutional concerns.
    • United States
    • ABA General Library Apellate Practice No. 40-1, December 2020
    • December 1, 2020
    ...an unqualified right to request the “records or papers” used in the jury selection process. 28 U.S.C. § 1867(f); Test v. United States , 420 U.S. 28, 30 (1975) (an “unqualified right to inspection is required not only by the plain text of the statute, but also by the statute’s overall purpo......

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