Bill Text: MS HB581 | 2010 | Regular Session | Engrossed
Bill Title: Jury selection; clarify permanent exclusion.
Sponsorship: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-1)
Status: (Failed) 2010-03-02 - Died In Committee [HB581 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2010-HB581-Engrossed.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2010 Regular Session
To: Judiciary A
By: Representatives Hamilton (109th), Perkins, Scott, Clark
House Bill 581
(As Passed the House)
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTIONS 13-5-8, 13-5-12, 13-5-23 AND 13-5-25, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT PERSONS WHO HAVE BEEN PERMANENTLY EXCLUDED FROM JURY SERVICE SHALL HAVE THEIR NAMES REMOVED FROM THE MASTER LIST; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 13-5-8, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
13-5-8. (1) In April of each year, the jury commission for each county shall compile and maintain a master list consisting of the voter registration list for the county.
(2) The circuit clerk of the county and the registrar of voters shall have the duty to certify to the commission during the month of January of each year under the seal of his office the voter registration list for the county.
(3) The names of any person permanently excused from jury service shall not be listed on the master list.
SECTION 2. Section 13-5-12, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
13-5-12. Unless all the names on the master list are to be placed in the jury wheel pursuant to Section 13-5-10, the names or identifying numbers of prospective jurors to be placed in the jury wheel shall be selected by the jury commission at random from the master list in the following manner: The total number of names on the master list shall be divided by the number of names to be placed in the jury wheel; the whole number nearest the quotient shall be the "key number," except that the key number shall never be less than two (2). A "starting number" for making the selection shall then be determined by a random method from the number from one (1) to the key number, both inclusive. The required number of names shall then be selected from the master list by taking in order the first name on the master list corresponding to the starting number and then successively the names appearing in the master list at intervals equal to the key number, recommencing if necessary at the start of the list until the required number of names has been selected. The name of any person who is under the age of twenty-one (21) years and those who have been permanently excused shall be passed over without interrupting the sequence of selection. Upon recommencing at the start of the list, names previously selected from the master list shall be disregarded in selecting the additional names. The jury commission may use an electronic or mechanical system or device in carrying out its duties.
SECTION 3. Section 13-5-23, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
13-5-23. (1) All qualified persons shall be liable to serve as jurors, unless excused by the court for one (1) of the following causes:
(a) When the juror is ill and, on account of the illness, is incapable of performing jury service;
(b) When the juror's attendance would cause undue or extreme physical or financial hardship to the prospective juror or a person under his or her care or supervision; or
(c) When the potential juror is a breast-feeding mother.
(2) An excuse of illness under subsection (1)(a) of this section may be made to the clerk of court outside of open court by providing the clerk with a certificate of a licensed physician, stating that the juror is ill and is unfit for jury service, in which case the clerk may excuse the juror. If the excuse of illness is not supported by a physician's certificate, a judge of the court for which the individual was called to jury service shall decide whether to excuse an individual under subsection (1)(a) of this section.
(3) (a) The test of an excuse under subsection (1)(b) of this section for undue or extreme physical or financial hardship shall be whether the individual would either:
(i) Be required to abandon a person under his or her personal care or supervision due to the impossibility of obtaining an appropriate substitute caregiver during the period of participation in the jury pool or on the jury; or
(ii) Incur costs that would have a substantial adverse impact on the payment of the individual's necessary daily living expenses or on those for whom he or she provides the principal means of support; or
(iii) Suffer physical hardship that would result in illness or disease.
(b) "Undue or extreme physical or financial hardship" does not exist solely based on the fact that a prospective juror will be required to be absent from his or her place of employment or business.
(c) A judge of the court for which the individual was called to jury service shall decide whether to excuse an individual under subsection (1)(b) of this section.
(d) A person asking to be excused based on a finding of undue or extreme physical or financial hardship must take all actions necessary to have obtained a ruling on that request by no later than the date on which the individual is scheduled to appear for jury duty.
(e) A person asking a judge to grant an excuse under subsection (1)(b) of this section may be required to provide the judge with documentation such as, but not limited to, federal and state income tax returns, medical statements from licensed physicians, proof of dependency or guardianship and similar documents, which the judge finds to clearly support the request to be excused. Failure to provide satisfactory documentation may result in a denial of the request to be excused.
(f) In cases under subsection (1)(c) of this section, the excuse must be made by the juror in open court under oath.
(4) A person is excused from jury service permanently only when the deciding judge determines that the underlying grounds for being excused are of a permanent nature. A person who has been summoned for jury duty who meets the age threshold for exemption from jury service shall have the option to be permanently excused from jury service due to age by filing with the circuit clerk a notarized request to be permanently excused. When a person has been permanently excused from jury service the person's name shall be excluded from the master list.
(5) Grand jurors shall serve until discharged by the court.
SECTION 4. Section 13-5-25, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
13-5-25. Every citizen over sixty-five (65) years of age, and everyone who has served as a grand juror or as a petit juror in the trial of a litigated case within two (2) years, shall be exempt from service if the juror claims the privilege. No qualified juror shall be excluded because of any such reasons, but the same shall be a personal privilege to be claimed by any person selected for jury duty. Any citizen over sixty-five (65) years of age may claim this personal privilege outside of open court by providing the clerk of court with information that allows the clerk to determine the validity of the claim. A citizen over sixty-five (65) years of age who claims this personal privilege may also request to be permanently excluded from jury service. If the person requests permanent exclusion, the person's name shall be excluded from the master list.
Provided, however, that no person who has served as a grand juror or as a petit juror in a trial of a litigated case in one (1) court may claim the exemption in any other court where the juror may be called to serve.
SECTION 5. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2010.
