The best-known use of the "special jury" was by NY County District Attoney Thomas E. Dewey, in his campaign against organized crime in the late 1930s. The press called such juries "blue-ribbon" juries. Use of the so-called "special jury" was first authorized by NY Laws of 1896, Chap. 378. The 1896 statute provided for use of a "special jury" upon application by the district attorney OR the defendant in a criminal case OR either party in a civil case, "by reason of the importance or intricacy of the case . . . or [because] the subject matter of the indictment or the issue to be tried has been so widely commented upon that the court is satisfied that an ordinary jury cannot without delay and difficulty be obtained to try such issue" or for the "due, efficient and impartial administration of justice." The statute required personal examination of each prospective special juror concerning his "qualification and fitness to serve as a special juror." The statute provided no definition of such qualifications, though a clue may be found in the statutory reference to "intricacy of the case"--implying that a complex case might require jurors with greater powers of analysis and/or greater subject expertise. The provisions of the 1896 statute were reenacted by Laws of 1902 Chap. 602, and Laws of 1938, Chap. 552 (= Judiciary Law sect. 18b). The statute was repealed by Laws of 1965, Chap. 778. The "special jury" provisions always applied only in counties of population of one million or more, which means the statute was applicable only in some of the boroughs of New York City, and in the late decades in some of the NYC suburban counties and in Erie County (Buffalo). Jim Folts Head, Reference Services New York State Archives >>> [log in to unmask] 11/20/06 11:24 AM >>> TO WHOMEVER: I am trying to assist someone who is researching the 1899 Lunacy Trial of John Armstrong Chanler. They have uncovered an artifact from the trial - a "flask" inscribed "FIRST PANEL SHERIFFS JURY JANUARY 14, 1899" and bearing what appears to be the court's coat-of-arms.. Has anyone heard of such a thing? Would the jurors be given them as souvenirs? The story behind the trial is fascinating, Chanler, an heir to the Astor fortune, was found sane in some states and insane in others. There is a new book out on this -"ARCHIE AND AMELIA, LOVE AND MADNESS IN THE GILDED AGE." John N. Travis Albany County Historian/ 112 State St, Albany NY 12207