Assigned to JUD                                                                                                          AS PASSED BY THE SENATE

ARIZONA STATE SENATE

Forty-eighth Legislature, First Regular Session

AMENDED

FACT SHEET FOR S.B. 1434

juries; commissioner duties; juror selection

Purpose

            Changes the jury statutes with regard to jury trial procedure, the selection of a master jury file, the maintenance of juror records, the jury management automation systems, the use of the juror questionnaire, juror service and juror summoning procedures.

Background

Jury Commissioner

            The jury commissioner is the clerk of the superior court, except that in any county having a population of more than 500,000 persons, the presiding judge of the superior court may appoint a jury commissioner.  The jury commissioner shall report to the presiding judge (A.R.S. § 21-131).

Juror Qualifications and Summons

            The right of a trial by jury is the privilege of every person in the United States.  The right is guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and Arizona Constitution.  According to the Arizona Supreme Court website, the Jury Commissioner’s Office provides jurors for all trial divisions of the superior court and, in some counties, justice courts and municipal courts.

            The master jury list is made up of names randomly selected from lists provided by the motor vehicle and voter registration departments.  Prior to the projected date of service, prospective jurors’ names are drawn from these lists and they are mailed a questionnaire or summons.  When the questionnaires are returned, they are reviewed to establish the eligibility of prospective jurors. Eligibility qualifications include U.S. citizenship, residency in the jurisdiction summoned to serve, no felony convictions or restoration of rights following a felony conviction and no adjudications of mental incompetency or insanity (A.R.S. § 21-201).

            The fiscal impact is undetermined; however, the restructuring of jury commissioner duties and juror summoning procedures may impact court costs.

Provisions

Voter Registration and Change of Registration

1. Removes an exception of an incorporated city or town to maintain a local voter registration list.

Jury Trial Procedure

2. Removes the requirement that a clerk or justice of the peace issue a venire to the sheriff or constable when the summons is issued.

3. Requires the court to grant a plaintiff’s request for a jury trial.

4. Requires a jury of eight persons for a superior court proceeding.

5. Requires a jury of six persons for a justice court proceeding.

6. Removes the jury requirement for superior and justice court proceedings upon issuance of a venire.

7. Removes the requirement that the venire be served and returned on the day assigned for trial.

8. Requires the court to grant a defendant’s request for a jury.

9. Removes the defendant’s jury request to be subject to issuance of the summons and a venire.

10. Removes the immediate summons of other qualified jurors if any jurors fail to attend or are excused after being challenged.

Jury Commissioner

11. Allows the jury commissioner to administer an oath or affirmation with regard to the examination of juries.

12. Allows the jury commissioner to provide services to any court in the county if requested by that court.

13. Allows the jury commissioner to appoint a designee to perform any act required of the jury commissioner with regard to juries.

14. Requires a presiding judge, or another judge designated by the presiding judge, to review the jury commissioner’s decision to deny a person’s written request to be excused or disqualified from jury service.

Juror Qualifications and Summons

15. Specifies a presumption that a citizen whose name and address appears on the master jury list is a resident of the jurisdiction.

16. Requires a second notice for service before the court may find a person in contempt for failing to attend jury service.

17. Allows the court to compel a person to attend jury service on another date following the second notice.

18. Removes the requirement that name of prospective jurors for trial and grand juries be randomly selected from the master jury list.

19. Directs the jury commissioner to produce a master jury list.

20. Removes reference to maintaining a uniform format of a master jury list in counties that select and draw jurors using data processing equipment.

21. Requires the superior court in each county to summon trial jurors and grand jurors from the master jury list pursuant to rules adopted by the Supreme Court.

22. Requires juror summoning to be a constitutional countywide summoning method.

23. Allows the court to use alternative juror summoning procedures that are constitutional and approved pursuant to rules adopted by the Supreme Court.

24. Allows a superior court in a county with multiple court locations to propose alternative juror summoning procedures approved by the Supreme Court.

25. Allows alternative juror summoning procedures to minimize the distance prospective jurors must travel by dividing the county into jury districts or using a countywide juror summoning method that allows for the consideration of all qualified persons in the county.

26. Allows, if multiple courts operate at one location, jurors to be summoned countywide or from the jurisdiction of the courts and pooled for use by any superior court or justice of the peace court, except that in counties of two million persons or more, a person must reside within the precinct limits of the court to be a juror in a justice of the peace court.

27. Restricts jury service in municipal court to persons who reside within the city or town limits of the court.

28. Requires, in counties with a population of two million persons or more, a person to reside within the precinct to be eligible for jury service in a justice of the peace court.

Master Jury File

29. Repeals the procedures for selecting the number of names to be drawn for jury service.

30. Requires, if a superior court uses a master jury file, the jury commissioner to randomly select from the master jury list a sufficient number of persons for jury service for six months or less.

31. Allows jurors on a master jury list for a superior court to be retained and carried over once to the next succeeding master jury file.

32. Requires the jury commissioner or designee to randomly select names from the master jury list to establish the master jury file.

33. Allows the presiding judge to randomly select additional names from the master jury list if additional jurors are required.

34. Requires, if a justice of the peace court or a municipal court uses a master jury file, the jury manager to randomly select from the master jury list a sufficient number of persons for jury service for six months or less.

35. Allows jurors on a master jury list for a justice of the peace court or a municipal court to be retained and carried over once to the next succeeding master jury file.

36. Requires the jury manager or designee to randomly select names from the master jury list to establish the master jury file.

37. Allows the justice of the peace or the presiding municipal court judge to randomly select additional names from the master jury list if additional jurors will be required.

38. Specifies that the use of a master jury file is optional.

Juror Records

39. Prohibits the release of the list of juror names or other juror information unless required by law or by court order.

40. Specifies that all juror records containing biographical information are confidential.

41. Requires all juror records containing biographical information to be returned to the jury commissioner, the jury manager or the court following completion of juror selection.

42. Prohibits dissemination of all juror records containing biographical information by a party or the party’s attorney.

43. Specifies that a random jury box seating list is confidential.

Jury Management Automation Systems

44. Allows the use of a jury management automation system in the performance of the random selection of names.

45. Replaces “data processing equipment” with “a jury management automation system” to randomly select names.

46. Removes the ability of a juror commissioner’s agent to program the random selection of names on the master jury list.

47. Requires device programming to ensure random selection procedures.

48. Requires the courts to use random selection procedures throughout the juror selection process, including juror qualifications or summons, juror panel assignment and voir dire.

Juror Questionnaire

49. Expands, to the jury manager, the use of a juror questionnaire to determine juror qualifications or valid grounds to be excused or postponed from service.

50. Allows the jury commissioner or jury manager to require additional information from a person to make the determination of whether a person is qualified to serve.

51. Allows the jury commissioner or jury manager to determine juror qualifications, excuses and postponements at the same time as the determination of whether a person is qualified to serve.

52. Removes a person’s requirement to return the juror questionnaire to the jury commissioner within ten days of receipt.

53. Expands, to the jury manager, the ability to destroy the fully answered questionnaire 90 days after the commissioner or manager receives it.

54. Allows the juror questionnaire to be mailed before the summons.

55. Allows the jury commissioner or jury manager to call on law enforcement agencies for assistance in an investigation.

Excuse From Service

56. Specifies that a jury commissioner or jury manager may determine a person’s qualification for jury service.

57. Removes the ability of the judge to determine a person’s qualification for jury service.

58. Changes, from “sufficient” to “valid,” the grounds to be excused from jury service.

59. Allows a person to be postponed from jury service.

60. Allows a presiding judge, jury commissioner or jury manager to require a person listed on the master jury list to appear before the jury commissioner or the jury manager to testify under oath or affirmation with regard to a person’s qualifications for jury service.

61. Repeals the requirements related to jurors testifying concerning qualifications.

62. Repeals the administration of an oath or affirmation by the jury commissioner with regard to a juror examination.

63. Repeals a person’s ability to make written application for review to a presiding judge following the refusal to excuse the person from jury service.

64. Repeals the selection of persons for panel or array.

Juror Summoning Procedure

65. Requires the jury commissioner or jury manager to summon jurors by requiring: a) the court to order the jury commissioner or jury manager to randomly summon a specific number of qualified jurors for a trial jury or grand jury panel; b) the jury commissioner or jury manager to determine a specific number of persons to be summoned based on historical data regarding juror demand; or c) both of the aforementioned procedures.

66. Prohibits, in counties in which multiple superior court locations exist, a juror from being summoned from more than one court location on a specific date.

67. Prohibits, in counties in which multiple superior court locations exist, a juror from serving in more than one court location on any specific date.

68. Adds the telephone as a means of summoning a person to attend the court at a fixed time.

69. Removes the procedures for summoning a juror by the sheriff, constable, marshal, policeman or court of that jurisdiction for a justice court or municipal court on written order of the justice of the peace or magistrate of the court.

70. Removes the officer requirements to return the order for appearance of the jurors with a list of  the summoned jurors endorsed on the order.

71. Removes the jury commissioner requirement to draw prospective jurors for the justice court and for the municipal court pursuant to an intergovernmental agreement between the county and the municipality.

Grand Juries

72. Requires, in counties with a population of 200,000 or more persons, a grand jury to be called every four months rather than on the first court date of each year, the first court date of May of each year and the first court date of September of each year.

73. Requires the order to form a grand jury to specify the number of jurors to constitute the grand jury.

74. Repeals and recodifies the requirement that a grand jury consist of at least 12 but not more than 16 persons, 9 of whom constitute a quorum for all proceedings.

75. Allows the administration of the oath to an alternative grand juror to be completed by a presiding judge’s designee.

76. Repeals regulations with regard to the residence and qualifications of the member of the state grand jury.

77. Removes the requirement of a jury commissioner of each county to prepare a prospective juror list from current jury lists to impanel a state grand jury.

78. Removes the ability of a justice of the peace or presiding officer of a police court to issue an order directed to summon the number of qualified persons specified in the order to appear at a specific time and place to serve as jurors.

Miscellaneous

79. Renumbers the statute relating to jurors’ term of service.

80. Repeals the use of data processing equipment.

81. Defines the following terms:  a) “juror pool”; b) “jury manager”; c) “jury panel”; d) “master jury file”; and e) “master jury list.”

82. Makes numerous technical and conforming changes.

83. Becomes effective on October 1, 2007.

Amendments Adopted by Committee

1. Removes the change, repeal, transfer and renumbering of jury statutes relating to jury commissioner duties, juror qualifications, the master jury list, juror service, the juror questionnaire, rules, grand jurors and judicial supervision.

2. Expands the authority to approve alternative juror summoning procedures.

3. Adds a residency requirement for justice of the peace jury service.

4. Removes the delayed effective date.

Amendments Adopted by Committee of the Whole

1. Changes, with regard to juror service:  a) trial procedures; b) selection of a master jury file; c) maintenance of juror records; d) use of jury management automation; e) juror questionnaire; f) investigation of jurors; g) summoning procedures.

2. Repeals multiple sections.

3. Changes the effective date to October 1, 2007.

Senate Action

JUD                 2/12/07     DPA     6-0-1-0

3^rd Read           3/1/07                    29-0-1-0

Prepared by Senate Research

March 5, 2007

CEW/jas