Juror Shortage

A second time in 30 years happened at the El Paso County Courthouse. On Monday, there were too many trials and not enough jurors. Seven felony trials were set for Monday. There were only enough jurors for six of the trials. One had to be postponed to Tuesday.

Luckily, that postponement didn’t interfere with that defendant’s right to a speedy trial However, what if did interfere and you had to seat a jury right now? We asked that question of Fourth Judicial District, D.A. Dan May. He told us, “That’s when the jury commissioner can use their powers and walk out on the street and just start turning to people and say you are a juror and you don’t have a choice.”

D. A. Dan May is already talking with the jury commissioner about prepping for next month. Normally, there is one murder trial a month. There are five murder trials set for January.