Can a Mississippi circuit clerk summon the same people again if their first jury week was canceled and the jury wheel runs out?

Plain-English summary

Sunflower County's circuit clerk expected that the jury wheel might run out before its next annual refill. She asked whether people summoned from the April 2026 wheel for a week with no trial, and therefore never required to report, could receive another summons for a later week.

The Attorney General found no statute prohibiting that new summons. The opinion also says Mississippi law gives circuit clerks no specific instructions for what to do when a jury wheel is exhausted. It does not announce a general replacement procedure for the wheel.

The analysis separates being summoned from serving on a jury. Section 13-5-1 lists qualifications for jurors and restrictions for people who served before, but does not make a person incompetent merely because a summons was issued for a week when no trial occurred. The opinion also cites Havard v. State, where the Court of Appeals upheld a trial court order bringing back jurors called during an earlier term who had not actually sat on a jury, in the absence of evidence that the jury was unfair or partial.

What this means for you

Circuit clerks and jury commissioners

In the precise situation presented, a summons for a canceled trial week does not itself disqualify the person from being summoned again after the wheel is exhausted. The opinion does not supply a full procedure for exhaustion or change the statutory rules for selecting names from the wheel and jury box.

Prospective jurors

Being summoned for a week in which no trial occurred, without being required to appear, was not treated by the AG as prior jury service that makes the person incompetent to serve later. The conclusion is about eligibility for another summons under the facts in the request.

Common questions

Q: Can I be called for jury duty again if my earlier week was canceled? A: Under the facts in this opinion, yes. The AG found no statutory bar to another summons for a person who was summoned but did not have to report because no trial was held.

Q: Does a canceled jury summons count as serving on a jury? A: The opinion distinguishes people merely summoned from those who actually served. It says the qualifications statute does not make the first group incompetent to serve later.

Q: What must the clerk do when the jury wheel is empty? A: The AG says the statutes provide no specific guidance for that situation. Its answer is limited to the absence of a statutory prohibition on resummoning the unused group described in the request.

Background and statutory framework

Miss. Code Ann. § 13-5-10 requires each county jury commission to maintain a wheel of prospective jurors and to refill it in April. The opinion notes that the commission or court may direct that a larger or additional number be placed in the wheel. Names are drawn into a jury box, from which the clerk selects the number requested for a trial under Miss. Code Ann. § 13-5-26.

Section 13-5-1 sets qualifications and certain restrictions tied to prior service. Miss. Code Ann. § 13-5-87 treats rules for listing, drawing, summoning, and impaneling juries as directory. The AG applied those provisions and Havard to the unused panel described by the clerk, without deciding a broader jury-wheel exhaustion process.

Citations and references

• Miss. Code Ann. § 13-5-10 (jury wheel)
• Miss. Code Ann. § 13-5-26(2)-(3) (selection from the jury box)
• Section 13-5-1 (juror qualifications)
• Miss. Code Ann. § 13-5-87 (jury selection provisions)
• Havard v. State, 986 So. 2d 333, 336 (Miss. Ct. App. 2007)

Source

• Landing page: https://attorneygenerallynnfitch.com/divisions/opinions-and-policy/recent-opinions/
• Original PDF: https://attorneygenerallynnfitch.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/C.-Hamilton-October-15-2026-Recalling-Jury-Panels-Who-Were-Summoned-but-Did-Not-Have-to-Report-for-Jury-Duty.pdf

Original opinion text

October 15, 2026
The Honorable Carolyn P. Hamilton
Circuit Clerk, Sunflower County
Post Office Box 880
Indianola, Mississippi 38751
Re:

Recalling Jury Panels Who Were Summoned but Did Not Have to Report for Jury Duty

Dear Ms. Hamilton:
The Office of the Attorney General has received your request for an official opinion. Background According to your request, you are concerned that the jury wheel may be exhausted before the next wheel is drawn in April 2027 due to the current court calendar and the number of trials set for the coming year. Question Presented May prospective jurors, who were placed in the April 2026 jury wheel and issued summonses but not required to appear because no trial was held during their assigned week, be summoned again for a future week of court if the jury wheel is exhausted? Brief Response There is no statutory authority prohibiting prospective jurors, who were placed in the April 2026 jury wheel and issued summonses but not required to appear because no trial was held during their assigned week, from being summoned again for a future week of court if the jury wheel is exhausted.

550 HIGH STREET • SUITE 1200 • JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI 39201
POST OFFICE BOX 220 • JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI 39205
TELEPHONE (601) 359-3680

The Honorable Carolyn P. Hamilton
October 15, 2026
Page 2
Applicable Law and Discussion
Each county’s jury commission is required to “maintain a jury wheel1 into which the commission
. . . place[s] the names or identifying numbers of prospective jurors taken from the master list.”2 Miss. Code Ann. § 13-5-10. The jury wheel is “emptied and refilled” in April of each year as set forth in Section 13-5-10, which also provides that “[f]rom time to time a larger or additional number may be determined by the jury commission or ordered by the court to be placed in the jury wheel.” Names or identifying numbers of prospective jurors are then randomly drawn from the jury wheel as ordered by the court and placed in a jury box maintained by the circuit clerk. Miss. Code Ann. §§ 13-5-16 & 13-5-26(1). To empanel a jury, “[a] judge or any court or any other state or county official having authority to conduct a trial or hearing with a jury within the county” tells the circuit clerk the number of jurors needed, and the circuit clerk publicly draws or uses a computer program to randomly select the number of jurors specified from the jury box. Miss. Code Ann. § 13-5-26(2)-(3). You ask if prospective jurors, who were placed in the April 2026 jury wheel and issued summonses but not required to appear because no trial was held during their assigned week, may be summoned again for a future week of court if the jury wheel is exhausted. We first note that there is no statutory guidance instructing circuit clerks how to proceed when the jury wheel has been exhausted. Further, there is no statutory authority prohibiting the subject proposed action or stating that prospective jurors, summoned but not required to appear, are incompetent jurors. Section 13-5-1 lists the qualifications for competent jurors as follows: Every citizen not under the age of twenty-one (21) years, who is either a qualified elector designated as an active voter in the Statewide Election Management System, or a resident freeholder of the county for more than one (1) year, is able to read and write, and has not been convicted of an infamous crime, or the unlawful sale of intoxicating liquors within a period of five (5) years and who does not have a substance use disorder, is a competent juror. No person who is or has been within twelve (12) months the overseer of a public road or road contractor shall, however, be competent to serve as a grand juror. . . . Moreover, no talesman or tales juror shall be qualified who has served as such talesman or tales juror in the last preceding two (2) years, and no juror shall serve on any jury who has served as such for the last preceding two (2) years. No juror shall serve who has a case of his own pending in that court, provided there are sufficient qualified jurors in the district, and for trial at that term. In sum, Section 13-5-1 does not indicate that prospective jurors, who were summoned but not called to report for jury duty, are incompetent to serve as jurors. Furthermore, All the provisions of law in relation to the listing, drawing, summoning and impaneling juries are directory merely, and a jury listed, drawn, summoned or 1

A “‘jury wheel’ means any physical device or electronic system for the storage of the names or identifying numbers of prospective jurors.” Miss. Code Ann. § 13-5-4(e). 2 “‘Master list’ means the voter registration lists for the county.” Miss. Code Ann. § 13-5-4(c). 550 HIGH STREET • SUITE 1200 • JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI 39201 POST OFFICE BOX 220 • JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI 39205 TELEPHONE (601) 359-3680

The Honorable Carolyn P. Hamilton
October 15, 2026
Page 3
impaneled, though in an informal or irregular manner, shall be deemed a legal jury after it shall have been impaneled and sworn, and it shall have the power to perform all the duties devolving on the jury. Miss. Code Ann. § 13-5-87; see also Havard v. State, 986 So. 2d 333, 336 (Miss. Ct. App. 2007) (holding that a circuit court’s order compelling nine jurors, who were called for jury duty in the prior term but did not sit on a jury, to return for the next term of court was not erroneous because there was “absolutely no evidence that the jury was unfair or partial”). It is therefore the opinion of this Office that there is no statutory authority prohibiting prospective jurors, who were placed in the April 2026 jury wheel and issued summonses but not required to appear because no trial was held during their assigned week, from being summoned again for a future week of court if the jury wheel is exhausted. If this office may be of any further assistance to you, please do not hesitate to contact us. Sincerely, LYNN FITCH, ATTORNEY GENERAL By:

/s/ Kristi D. Kennedy
Kristi D. Kennedy
Special Assistant Attorney General

550 HIGH STREET • SUITE 1200 • JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI 39201
POST OFFICE BOX 220 • JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI 39205
TELEPHONE (601) 359-3680