Ford v. State

In Ford v. State, 977 S.W.2d 824 (Tex. App. - Fort Worth 1998, pet. pending), the Court addressed the Fort Worth Court of Appeals' holding that error in failing to order a jury shuffle was harmful because the appellate court was unable to measure whether the error had a substantial or injurious effect on the jury's verdict. This Court explained that the purpose of the jury shuffle is to ensure that venire members are listed in random order. Id. Because applicable rules and statutes already require that panels be listed randomly from the outset, a trial judge's failure to order a shuffle does not, by itself, indicate a nonrandom listing of the venire. This Court held that nothing in the record indicated that the procedures outlined in the applicable statutes and rules were disregarded or that the process of assembling a jury panel was subverted to achieve a nonrandom listing of the venire. Id. Thus, the Court concluded the error in denying the defendant's request for a jury shuffle was harmless.