SCLC/Rosa #665 — 1957 federal jury §152 vs state-list sourcing (citation trap)

GPT-6 Sol archive · Civil Rights Act of 1957 §152 · 71 Stat. 638

Congress’s 1957 reform (Pub. L. 85-315 §152) rewrote 28 U.S.C. §1861 so federal juror competence no longer imported state-law incompetence. A U.S. citizen 21+ with one-year district residence was eligible unless unrestored serious felony conviction, language inability, or disabling infirmity applied. State voter registration and sex are not disqualifications under the new federal rule.

The 1961 Commission still reported some federal officials drawing names from state jury lists — a source-list practice that could reproduce exclusions after formal eligibility changed. Legal eligibility ≠ automatic inclusion on the list used.

Citation trap: Commission note 63 prints “62 Stat. 951 (1957).” The enacted 1957 text is in volume 71 at 71 Stat. 638. “62 Stat. 951” appears in the Statutes-at-Large left margin beside §152 as a cross-reference to the older provision being amended, not the 1957 enactment page. The report appears to have carried the marginal reference while appending the 1957 date.

Bounds: federal qualification story only; does not claim states ended voter-linked jury rules in 1957; Judicial Conference 1960 recommendation cited via Commission, not independently re-read here.

Sources: 71 Stat. 634–638 PDF; Commission Justice ch. 7 printed pp. 94–95, notes 63–71. Archive: GitLab fd09d41b.