Bill Text: TX SB135 | 2015-2016 | 84th Legislature | Comm Sub

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Bill Title: Relating to the organization of a grand jury.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 10)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2015-05-24 - House passage as amended reported [SB135 Detail]

Download: Texas-2015-SB135-Comm_Sub.html

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By: Whitmire, et al. S.B. No. 135
(Dutton)

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the organization of a grand jury.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Article 19.01, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended to read as follows:
Art. 19.01. SELECTION AND SUMMONS OF PROSPECTIVE GRAND
JURORS [APPOINTMENT OF JURY COMMISSIONERS; SELECTION WITHOUT JURY
COMMISSION]. [(a)] The [district judge, at or during any term of
court, shall appoint not less than three, nor more than five persons
to perform the duties of jury commissioners, and shall cause the
sheriff to notify them of their appointment, and when and where they
are to appear. The district judge shall, in the order appointing
such commissioners, designate whether such commissioners shall
serve during the term at which selected or for the next succeeding
term. Such commissioners shall receive as compensation for each
day or part thereof they may serve the sum of Ten Dollars, and they
shall possess the following qualifications:
[1. Be intelligent citizens of the county and able to read
and write the English language;
[2. Be qualified jurors in the county;
[3. Have no suit in said court which requires intervention
of a jury;
[4. Be residents of different portions of the county; and
[5. The same person shall not act as jury commissioner more
than once in any 12-month period.
[(b) In lieu of the selection of prospective jurors by means
of a jury commission, the] district judge shall [may] direct that 20
to 125 prospective grand jurors be selected and summoned, with
return on summons, in the same manner as for the selection and
summons of panels for the trial of civil cases in the district
courts. The judge shall try the qualifications for and excuses from
service as a grand juror and impanel the completed grand jury [in
the same manner] as provided by this chapter [for grand jurors
selected by a jury commission].
SECTION 2. Article 19.07, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended to read as follows:
Art. 19.07. EXTENSION BEYOND TERM OF PERIOD FOR WHICH GRAND
JURORS SHALL SIT. If prior to the expiration of the term for which
the grand jury was impaneled, it is made to appear by a declaration
of the foreman or of a majority of the grand jurors in open court,
that the investigation by the grand jury of the matters before it
cannot be concluded before the expiration of the term, the judge of
the district court in which said grand jury was impaneled may, by
the entry of an order on the minutes of said court, extend, from
time to time, for the purpose of concluding the investigation of
matters then before it, the period during which said grand jury
shall sit, for not to exceed a total of ninety days after the
expiration of the term for which it was impaneled, and all
indictments pertaining thereto returned by the grand jury within
said extended period shall be as valid as if returned before the
expiration of the term. [The extension of the term of a grand jury
under this article does not affect the provisions of Article 19.06
relating to the selection and summoning of grand jurors for each
regularly scheduled term.]
SECTION 3. Article 19.08, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended to read as follows:
Art. 19.08. QUALIFICATIONS. No person shall be selected or
serve as a grand juror who does not possess the following
qualifications:
1. The person must be a citizen of the state, and of
the county in which the person is to serve, and be qualified under
the Constitution and laws to vote in said county, provided that the
person's failure to register to vote shall not be held to disqualify
the person in this instance;
2. The person must be of sound mind and good moral
character;
3. The person must be able to read and write;
4. The person must not have been convicted of
misdemeanor theft or a felony;
5. The person must not be under indictment or other
legal accusation for misdemeanor theft or a felony;
6. The person must not be related within the third
degree of consanguinity or second degree of affinity, as determined
under Chapter 573, Government Code, to any person selected to serve
or serving on the same grand jury;
7. The person must not have served as grand juror [or
jury commissioner] in the year before the date on which the term of
court for which the person has been selected as grand juror begins;
and
8. The person must not be a complainant in any matter
to be heard by the grand jury during the term of court for which the
person has been selected as a grand juror.
SECTION 4. Article 19.19, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended to read as follows:
Art. 19.19. JURORS TO ATTEND FORTHWITH. The jurors
provided for in Article 19.18 [the two preceding Articles] shall be
summoned in person to attend before the court forthwith.
SECTION 5. Article 19.20, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended to read as follows:
Art. 19.20. TO SUMMON QUALIFIED PERSONS. On [Upon]
directing the sheriff to summon grand jurors [not selected by the
jury commissioners], the court shall instruct the sheriff [him]
that the sheriff [he] must not summon any [no] person to serve as a
grand juror who does not possess the qualifications prescribed by
law.
SECTION 6. Article 19.23, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended to read as follows:
Art. 19.23. MODE OF TEST. In trying the qualifications of
any person to serve as a grand juror, he shall be asked:
1. Are you a citizen of this state and county, and qualified
to vote in this county, under the Constitution and laws of this
state?
2. Are you able to read and write?
3. Have you ever been convicted of misdemeanor theft or any
[a] felony?
4. Are you under indictment or other legal accusation for
misdemeanor theft or for any felony?
SECTION 7. Article 19.26, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended to read as follows:
Art. 19.26. JURY IMPANELED. (a) When at least fourteen
qualified jurors are found to be present, the court shall select
twelve fair and impartial persons to serve as grand jurors and two
additional persons to serve as alternate grand jurors. In
selecting the grand jurors and the alternate grand jurors, the
court shall consider the county's demographics related to race,
ethnicity, sex, and age.
(b) The court shall proceed to impanel the grand jury,
unless a challenge is made, which may be to the array or to any
particular person presented to serve as a grand juror or an
alternate.
[(b) The grand jury is composed of not more than twelve
qualified jurors.] In addition, the court shall [qualify and]
impanel [not more than] two alternates to serve on disqualification
or unavailability of a juror during the term of the grand jury. On
learning that a grand juror has become disqualified or unavailable
during the term of the grand jury, the attorney representing the
state shall prepare an order for the court identifying the
disqualified or unavailable juror, stating the basis for the
disqualification or unavailability, dismissing the disqualified or
unavailable juror from the grand jury, and naming one of the
alternates as a member of the grand jury. The procedure established
by this subsection may be used on disqualification or
unavailability of a second grand juror during the term of the grand
jury. For purposes of this subsection, a juror is unavailable if
the juror is unable to participate fully in the duties of the grand
jury because of the death of the juror, [or] a physical or mental
illness of the juror, or any other reason the court determines
constitutes good cause for dismissing the juror.
SECTION 8. Article 19.30, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended to read as follows:
Art. 19.30. CHALLENGE TO "ARRAY". A challenge to the
"array" shall be made in writing for these causes only:
1. That those summoned as grand jurors are not in fact those
selected by the method provided by Article 19.01 [19.01(b) of this
chapter or by the jury commissioners]; and
2. That [In case of grand jurors summoned by order of the
court, that] the officer who summoned the grand jurors [them had]
acted corruptly in summoning any one or more of them.
SECTION 9. Section 24.014(b), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b) The judge may impanel [appoint jury commissioners who
select and draw] grand and petit jurors as provided by law. The
jurors may be summoned to appear before the court at the time
designated by the judge.
SECTION 10. Section 24.135(c), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(c) The judge of the 33rd District Court may [select jury
commissioners and] impanel grand juries in each county. The judge
of the 33rd District Court may alternate the drawing of grand juries
with the judge of any other district court in each county within the
33rd Judicial District and may order grand and petit juries to be
drawn for any term of the court as the judge determines is
necessary, by an order entered in the minutes of the court.
Indictments within each county may be returned to either court
within that county.
SECTION 11. Section 24.377(b), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b) The judge of the 198th District Court may [select jury
commissioners and] impanel grand juries in each county. The judge
of the 198th District Court may alternate the drawing of grand
juries with the judge of any other district court in each county
within the judge's district and may order grand and petit juries to
be drawn for any term of the judge's court as in the judge's judgment
is necessary, by an order entered in the minutes of the court.
Indictments within each county may be returned to either court
within that county.
SECTION 12. Section 24.396(b), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b) The judge of the 218th District Court may [select grand
jury commissioners and] impanel grand juries in each county in the
district but is not required to impanel a grand jury in any county
except when the judge [he] considers it necessary. The judge may
alternate the impaneling of grand juries in each county with the
judge of any other district court in that county, or the judges may
by agreement determine which one of the courts will impanel the
grand juries. Indictments within each county may be returned to any
district court within that county. All grand and petit juries drawn
for one district court in each county are interchangeable with any
other district court in that county as if the jury had been drawn
for the court in which it is used.
SECTION 13. Section 24.487(b), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b) The judge of the 341st District Court may [select jury
commissioners and] impanel grand juries in Webb County. The judge
of the 341st District Court may alternate the drawing of grand
juries with the judge of any other district court in the county. By
order entered on the minutes, for any term that the judge considers
it necessary, the judge may order grand and petit juries to be
drawn.
SECTION 14. Section 24.568(d), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(d) The judge of the 424th District Court may [select jury
commissioners and] impanel grand juries in each county. The judge
of the 424th District Court may alternate the drawing of grand
juries with the judge of any other district court in each county
within the 424th Judicial District and may order grand and petit
juries to be drawn for any term of the court as the judge determines
is necessary, by an order entered in the minutes of the court.
Indictments within each county may be returned to either court
within that county.
SECTION 15. Section 24.596(b), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b) The judge of the 452nd District Court may [select jury
commissioners and] impanel grand juries in each county. The judge
of the 452nd District Court may order grand and petit juries to be
drawn for any term of the judge's court as in the judge's judgment is
necessary, by an order entered in the minutes of the court.
SECTION 16. The heading to Section 402.024, Government
Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 402.024. DEFENSE OF DISTRICT ATTORNEY[, GRAND JURY
COMMISSIONER,] OR GRAND JUROR.
SECTION 17. Section 402.024(b), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b) The attorney general shall defend a state [grand jury
commissioner or] grand juror who is a defendant in an action in any
court if:
(1) the suit involves an act of the person while in the
performance of duties as a [grand jury commissioner or] grand
juror; and
(2) the person requests the attorney general's
assistance in the defense.
SECTION 18. The following provisions are repealed:
(1) Articles 19.02, 19.03, 19.04, 19.05, 19.06, 19.09,
19.10, 19.11, 19.12, 19.13, 19.14, 19.15, and 19.17, Code of
Criminal Procedure; and
(2) Section 24.014(c), Government Code.
SECTION 19. Section 402.024(b), Government Code, as amended
by this Act, applies only to a court action arising from an act of a
person that occurs on or after the effective date of this Act. A
court action arising from an act of a person that occurred before
the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on
the date the act occurred, and the former law is continued in effect
for that purpose.
SECTION 20. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.