Judge says jury pool is invalid

LLAWRENCEVILLE - Court activity ground to a halt Monday in Gwinnett County after a judge ruled that the new jury pool is invalid. <br> <br> Superior Court Judge John S. Langford of neighboring Fulton County said Gwinnett&#39;s judges and the court administrator were improperly involved in the jury pool selection, a process that should have been independent. <br> <br> ``You know that sound when you approach a railroad crossing and you hear the squealing of the wheels? I heard that noise echoing through the courthouse as the judge made his ruling,&#39;&#39; District Attorney Danny Porter said. <br> <br> Counties are required by July to change their jury pools to reflect population shifts reported in the 2000 census. In Gwinnett, court officials said they changed the makeup of the pool to add more minorities. Defense attorneys disagreed with both the minority makeup of the pool and the selection process. <br> <br> Langford issued the ruling based on a motion by attorneys for murder suspect Wesley Harris. <br> <br> Michael Mears, director of the Multicounty Public Defender&#39;s Office, which handles death penalty cases across Georgia. Mears said grand jury indictments likely will be invalid and past death penalty convictions might be overturned based on Langford&#39;s findings. <br> <br> Porter said he was uncertain. ``I really don&#39;t anticipate a problem for prior convictions,&#39;&#39; he said. <br> <br> Hall and Glynn counties also have had problems selecting jury pools, Mears said. Hall jury commissioners were told to add more Hispanic residents. <br> <br> Two years ago, Glynn jury commissioners failed to exclude some convicted felons and residents who had died.