names, of such persons must be destroyed, and in such cases other persons shall be drawn in their stead.

Code, s. 1729; 1889, c. 559; 1897, c. 117, s. 5; 1806, c. 694.

1962. How drawing to continue. The drawing out of partition marked No. 1 and putting the scrolls drawn into partition No. 2 shall continue until all the scrolls in partition No. 1 are drawn out, when all the scrolls shall be returned into partition No. 1 and drawn out again as herein directed.

Code, s. 1730; 1868-9, c. 9, s. 9; 1806, c. 6, s. 94.

1963. When commissioners fail to draw jury. If the commissioners for any cause fail to draw a jury for any term of the superior court, regular or special, the sheriff of the county and the clerk of the commissioners in the presence of, and assisted by two justices of the peace of the county, shall draw such jury in the manner above prescribed; and if a special term shall continue for more than two weeks, then for the weeks exceeding two, a jury or juries may be drawn as in this section provided.

Code, s. 1732; 1868-9, c. 9, s. 11.

II. PETIT JURORS AND TALESMEN.

1964. Peremptory challenges. The clerk, before a jury shall be impaneled to try the issues in any civil suit, shall read over the names of the jury upon the panel in the presence and hearing of the parties or their counsel; and the parties, or their counsel for them, may challenge peremptorily four jurors upon the said panel, without showing any cause therefor, which shall be allowed by the

court.

Code, s. 406; R. C., c. 31, s. 35; 1796, c. 452, s. 2; 1812, c. 833.

1965. Peremptory challenges apportioned between defendants. When there are two or more defendants in a civil action the judge presiding at the trial, if it appears to the court that there are divers and antagonistic interests between the defendants, may in his discretion apportion among the defendants the challenges now allowed by law to defendants, or he may increase the number of challenges to not exceeding four to each defendant or class of defendants representing the same interest: Provided, in either event the same number of challenges shall be allowed each defendant or class of defendants. representing the same interest: Provided further, that the decision. of the judge as to the nature of the interests and number of challenges shall be final.

1905, c. 357.

1966. Sworn; judge decides competency. The clerk shall, at the beginning of the court, swear such of the petit jury as are of the original panel, to try all civil cases; and if there should not be enough of the original panel, the talesmen shall be sworn; and the petit jurors of the original panel, as well as talesmen, shall be sworn as prescribed in the chapter entitled Oaths: Provided, that nothing herein shall be construed to disallow the usual challenges in law to the whole jury so sworn or to any of them; and if by reason of such challenge, any juror shall be withdrawn, his place on the jury shall be supplied by any of the original venire, or from the bystanders qualified to serve as jurors, and the judge or other presiding officer of the court shall decide all questions as to the competency of jurors in both civil and criminal actions.

Code, s. 405; R. C., c. 31, s. 34; 1790, c. 321; 1822, c. 1133, s. 1.

1967. Tales jurors summoned; qualifications. That there may not be a defect of jurors, the sheriff shall by order of court summon, from day to day, of the bystanders, other jurors, being freeholders, within the county where the court is held, to serve on the petit jury, and on any day the court may discharge those who have served the preceding day. It shall be a disqualification and ground of challenge to any tales juror that such juror has acted in the same court as grand, petit or tales juror within two years next preceding such term of the court.

Code, s. 1733; R. C., 31, s. 29; 1779, c. 156, s. 69.

1968. Judge to appoint one to summon tales jurors, sheriff interested. In the trial of any action before a jury where the sheriff of the county in which the case is to be tried is a party to or has any interest in the action, or when the presiding judge shall find upon investigation that the sheriff of the county is not a suitable person, on account of indirect interest in or relative to the cause of action, to be entrusted with the summoning of the tales jurors in any particular case pending, such judge shall appoint some suitable person to summon the jurors in place of the sheriff.

1889, c. 441.

III. GRAND JURORS.

1969. How drawn. The judges of the superior court, at the terms of their courts, except those terms which are for the trial of civil cases exclusively, and special terms for which no grand jury has been ordered, shall direct the names of all persons returned as jurors to be written on scrolls of paper and put into a box or hat and drawn out by a child under ten years of age; whereof the first

eighteen drawn shall be a grand jury for the court; and the residue shall serve as petit jurors for the court.

Code, s. 404; R. C., c. 31, s. 33; 1779, c. 157, s. 11.
Note. For special terms, see s. 1515.

1970. Exceptions to, when taken. All exceptions to grand jurors for and on account of their disqualifications shall be taken before the jury is sworn and impaneled to try the issue, by motion to quash the indictment, and if not so taken the same shall be deemed to have been waived.

Code, s. 1741.

1971. Foreman may administer oaths. The foreman of every grand jury duly sworn and impaneled in any of the courts shall have power to administer oaths and affirmations to persons to be examined before it as witnesses: Provided, that the said foreman shall not administer such oath or affirmation to any persons except those whose names are endorsed on the bill of indictment by the officer prosecuting in behalf of the state, or by direction of the court: Provided further, that the foreman of the grand jury shall mark on the bill the names of the witnesses sworn and examined before the jury.

Code, s. 1742; 1879, c. 12.

1972. Must visit jail and county home. Every grand jury, while the court is in session, shall visit the county home for the aged and infirm, the workhouse, if there is one, and the jail, examine the same, and especially the apartments in which inmates and prisoners shall be confined; and they shall report to the court the condition thereof and of the inmates and prisoners confined therein, and also the manner in which the jailer or superintendent has discharged his duties. Code, s. 785; R. C., c. 30, s. 3; 1816, c. 911, s. 3.

NOTE. For duty of grand jury in reporting infants without guardian, see s. 1810.

IV. SPECIAL VENIRE.

1973. Ordered; summoned. Whenever a judge of the superior court shall deem it necessary to a fair and impartial trial of any person charged with a capital offense, he may issue to the sheriff of the county in which the trial may be, a special writ of venire. facias, commanding him to summon such number of the freeholders of said county as the judge may deem sufficient (such number being designated in the writ), to appear on some specified day of the term as jurors of said court; and the sheriff shall forthwith execute the

writ and return it to the clerk of the court on the day when the same shall be returnable, with the names of the jurors summoned. Code, s. 1738; R. C., c. 35, s. 30; 1830, c. 27.

1974. Drawn from box, when. Whenever a judge shall deem a special venire necessary, he may, at his discretion, issue an order to the clerk of the board of commissioners for the county, commanding him to bring into open court forthwith the jury boxes of the county, and he shall cause the number of scrolls as designated by him to be drawn from box No. 1 by a child under ten years of age. And the names so drawn (being freeholders) shall constitute the special venire, and the clerk of the superior court shall insert their names in the writ of venire, and deliver the same to the sheriff of the county, and the persons named in the writ and no others shall be summoned by the said sheriff. If the special venire is exhausted before the jury is chosen, the judge in his discretion may order another special venire to be drawn and summoned in like manner as the first, until the jury has been chosen. The scrolls, containing the names of the persons drawn as jurors from box No. 1 shall, after the jury is chosen, be placed in box No. 2; and if box No. 1 is exhausted before the jury is chosen, the drawing shall be completed from box No. 2, after the same shall have been well shaken. In the counties of Durham and Rockingham whenever a special venire is ordered, the jurors shall be drawn as herein provided.

Code, s. 1739; 1897, c. 364.

1975. Penalty on sheriff not executing; on jurors not attending. If any sheriff shall fail duly to execute and return such writ of venire facias, he shall be fined by the court not exceeding one hundred dollars; and all jurors so summoned shall attend until discharged by the court, under the same rules and penalties as are prescribed for other jurors.

Code, s. 1740; R. C., c. 35, s. 31; 1830, c. 27, s. 2.

V. GENERAL PROVISIONS.

1976. Summoned and must attend until discharged. The clerk of the board of county commissioners shall, within five days from the drawing, deliver the list of the jurors drawn for the superior court to the sheriff of the county, who shall summon the persons therein named to attend as jurors at such court, which summons shall be served, personally, or by leaving a copy thereof at the house of the juror, at least five days before the sitting of the court to which he

may be summoned; and jurors shall appear and give their attendance until duly discharged.

Code, s. 1733; 1868-9, c. 9, s. 12; R. C., c. 31, s. 29; 1779, c. 157, ss. 4, 6.

1977. Penalty for nonattendance, regular and tales. Every person on the original venire summoned to appear as a juror, who shall fail to give his attendance until duly discharged, shall forfeit and pay for the use of the county the sum of twenty dollars, to be imposed by the court: Provided, that each delinquent juryman shall have until the next succeeding term to make his excuse for his nonattendance, and, if he shall render an excuse deemed sufficient by the court, he shall be discharged without costs. And every person summoned of the bystanders, who shall not appear and serve during the day as a juror, shall be fined in the sum of two dollars, unless he can show sufficient cause to the court; and the clerk shall forthwith issue an execution against the estate of the delinquent tales juror for such amercement and costs.

Code, ss. 1734, 405; R. C., c. 31, s. 30; 1779, c. 157, s. 4; 1783, c. 189; 1806, c. 694.

1978. Furnished with accommodations. When any jury, impaneled to try any cause, shall be put in charge of an officer of the court, the said officer shall furnish said jury with such accommodation as the court may order, and the same shall be paid for by the party cast or by the county, under the order and in the discretion of the judge of said court.

Code, s. 1736; 1876-7, c. 173; 1889, c. 44.

1979. Exempt from civil arrest. No sheriff or other officer shall arrest under civil process any juror during his attendance on or going to and returning from any court of record. All such service. shall be void, and the defendant on motion shall be discharged. Code, s. 1735; R. C., c. 31, s. 31; 1779, c. 157, s. 10.

1980. Exemptions from jury duty. No practicing physician, licensed druggist, telegraph operator who is in the regular employ of any telegraph company or railroad company, train dispatcher who has the actual handling of either freight or passenger trains, regularly licensed pilot, regular minister of the gospel, officer or employee of a state hospital for the insane, or active member of a fire company, shall be required to serve as a juror.

Code, ss. 1723, 2269; 1901, c. 118; 1897, c. 32; 1889, c. 255; 1885, c. 289.

1981. Clerk to keep record of jurors. The clerk of the superior court shall record alphabetically in a book kept for the pur