Alston v. Black River Electric Cooperative, 345 S.C. 323

Summary

The Supreme Court of South Carolina held that members of an electric cooperative are per se disqualified from serving on a jury when the cooperative is a party to the lawsuit. The court reasoned that cooperative members have a pecuniary interest because they are both customers and owners entitled to potential excess revenues. The court reversed the Court of Appeals and adopted a rule presuming bias comparable to that of a corporate stockholder.

Holdings

1. A member of an electric cooperative is per se disqualified and incompetent to serve as a juror in a case in which the cooperative is a party.
2. If it is truly impossible to select a jury without members of the cooperative, a change of venue may be justified to protect the right to a fair and impartial trial.

Questions Presented

1. Whether members of an electric cooperative are per se disqualified from serving on a jury when the cooperative is a party to the lawsuit.
2. Whether a cooperative member's pecuniary interest in the cooperative creates presumed bias requiring automatic disqualification to preserve the right to an impartial jury.

Disposition

reversed