Rhode Island § 9-10-12 - Selection of Jury

§ 9-10-12. Drawing and impaneling of trial jury.

On the day when the petit jurors are summoned to attend at a court in any court for the trial of either civil or criminal cases, the clerk shall cause the name and place of abode of each person summoned as a juror to be written upon a separate paper, all of which papers shall be as nearly as may be of the same size, and shall cause them to be placed in a box provided for that purpose. When a case is brought on to be tried, the clerk in open court shall shake the papers thoroughly and shall then draw out twelve (12) papers in criminal cases or six (6) papers in civil cases, one after the other, or such other number as ordered by the court. If any of the persons whose names are so drawn do not appear, or are excused, or are set aside, the clerk shall draw out other papers until the names of an appropriate number of jurors are drawn who appear and are not excused or set aside. The jurors shall be duly sworn and impaneled, and shall be the jury to try the issue, and one of them shall be appointed foreperson by the court. The names of the jurors so sworn shall be kept by themselves and, when the verdict of the jury has been recorded or when the jury has been discharged by consent of parties or by leave of court, shall be returned to the box; and this process shall be repeated in each case when an issue is brought on to be tried by the jury; but if an issue is so brought on before the verdict in any other case has been recorded or the jury in the case has been discharged, the court may order a jury for the trial of such issue to be impaneled by drawing, in the manner provided, of papers from those then remaining in the box.