Sanders v. State
| Decision Date | 02 November 1976 |
| Docket Number | No. 31471,31471 |
| Court | Georgia Supreme Court |
| Parties | Rosa Mae SANDERS v. The STATE. |
E. Kontz Bennett, Jr., Waycross, for appellant.
Dewey Hayes, Dist. Atty., Waycross, Arthur K. Bolton, Atty. Gen., Isaac Byrd, Staff Asst. Atty. Gen., Atlanta, for appellee.
Appellant was convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. She appeals and asserts the trial court committed 26 errors. We reverse.
1. Appellant asserts the trial court erred in denying her challenges to the Ware County grand jury and traverse jury lists for systematic exclusion of persons on the basis of sex, race and age. See Whitus v. Georgia, 385 U.S. 545, 87 S.Ct. 643, 17 L.Ed.2d 599 (1966). Initially we conclude that the evidence does not show a systematic exclusion of persons because of age if indeed age can comprise a 'significantly identifiable group.' State v. Gould, 232 Ga. 844, 209 S.E.2d 312 (1974). Also we find no systematic exclusion of persons from the traverse jury list because of sex or race. The traverse jury list is composed of 53% women as compared to 55% women in the county and 20% blacks as compared to 22 1/2% blacks in the county. This differential is too slight to establish a prima facie case of purposeful discrimination. There is no other evidence of systematic exclusion of persons because of sex or race. The six jury commissioners, comprising two white men, two white women and two black men, testified at length that a sincere effort was made to obtain a traverse jury list that was a fairly representative cross section of the intelligent and upright citizens of the county as required by Georgia law, Code Ann. § 59-106.
The grand jury list is another matter. It is composed of 15% women whereas the county population is 55% women, and 8% blacks whereas the county population is 22 1/2% blacks. This is too marked a disparity and we must conclude as a matter of law that the grand jury list is not fairly representative of the community. Gould v. State, 131 Ga.App. 811, 207 S.E.2d 519 (1974), affirmed in part and reversed in part 232 Ga. 844, 209 S.E.2d 312 (1974). The jury commissioners testified there were sufficient upright and intelligent women and blacks in the community to have composed a grand jury proportionately representative of these groups. Fruthermore, we find no basis on which to conclude that the disproportionate composition of the grand jury is harmless. The grand jury which indicted appellant was composed of 19 persons of which only 4 were women and 2 were black. See Alexander v. Louisiana, 405 U.S. 625, 92 S.Ct. 1221, 31 L.Ed.2d 536 (1971)...
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