Handbook on Jury Use in the Federal District Courts

Chapter 3
There are two methods of random selection: (1) a blind draw and
(2) the use of quotient and starting numbers. With either method, the
actual selection of names is usually done by computer, because a court
usually receives the source lists on computer tapes or disks. However, a
court can select names by hand if the source lists are written or typed.
A court can also select names both by computer and by hand. A
district in which some counties have automated source lists and others
do not might use this approach. In such a district, the computer would
draw names from the automated lists while jury staff randomly selected
other names by hand from the typed lists. Then, the computer would
assemble both lists into a master list.
Blind draws. A blind draw, when done manually, means placing
each name from the source list on a separate card, putting the cards in
a drum, and drawing them blindly until the number needed for the
master wheel is reached. Some courts use computer programs that
simulate a blind draw to select names from the master jury wheel.
Quotient and starting numbers. Most courts, with the help of
computers, use "quotient numbers" and "starting numbers" to meet
the Act's goal of random selection of names for the master wheel from
the source lists. A court that uses quotient and starting numbers to select
names for its master jury wheel must first find the quotient number.
The quotient number is also known as the "interval number" because
it indicates the interval at which a court should select names
from the source lists. It is determined by dividing the total number of
names on the source lists by the number of names to be drawn.
For example, assume a court had 500,000 names on its source lists
and a goal of selecting 1,000 names for its master jury wheel. It would
divide 500,000 by 1,000, obtaining a quotient number of 500. Then, the
court would place the name of every 500th person on the source lists
in the master wheel. If the court began selecting names with the first
juror on the source lists, that person would be Prospective Juror 1; the
501st person on the lists would be Prospective Juror 2; and so on,
through the 499,501st person on the lists, who would be Prospective Juror
1,000.
A court should not automatically start its selection with the first
name on the list, however. If it does, the names in the last interval
(here, the 499 names from 499,502 to 500,000) will have no chance of
being chosen. Thus, a court must find a starting number, the number at
which it should start selecting names on the list. The number must be
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