SENATE, No. 264

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 1996 SESSION

By Senators GIRGENTI and KOSCO

An Act concerning the qualification of certain persons to serve as jurors and amending N.J.S.2B:20-1.

    Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

    1. N.J.S.2B:20-1 is amended to read as follows:

    2B:20-1. Qualifications of jurors

    Every person summoned as a juror:

    a. shall be 18 years of age or older;

    b. shall be able to read and understand the English language;

    c. shall be a citizen of the United States;

    d. shall be a resident of the county in which the person is summoned;

    e. shall not [be serving a sentence of imprisonment, or be on probation or parole, as a result of a conviction] have been convicted of any indictable offense under the laws of this State, another state, or the United States;

    f. shall not have any mental or physical disability which will prevent the person from properly serving as a juror.

    (cf: N.J.S. 2B:20-1)

    2. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

    P.L. 1995, c.44, recently codified into Title 2B the law governing the qualification and selection of jurors. Part of this statutory enactment removed the per se disqualification from jury service of persons convicted of an indictable offense. The new law automatically disqualifies an individual convicted of an indictable offense only if that person is serving a sentence of imprisonment, or is on probation or parole as a result of that conviction. Persons who have completed their prison sentence and are no longer on probation or parole are now eligible to serve as jurors.

    This bill restores the historical per se disqualification of convicted criminals from jury service. Those convicted of crimes would not be eligible for jury service regardless of whether they are still subject to some form of official restraint as a result of that conviction. The very real potential for bias by convicted criminals against law enforcement officers and the criminal justice system dictates that these individuals should be barred from jury service.

Excludes persons convicted of indictable offenses from jury duty.