SB 405

This bill allows a person who is at least 70 years of age to be excused from jury

service.

Under current law, the director of state courts annually compiles a statewide

master list of potential jurors for use by the state circuit courts and provides each

clerk of circuit court with a list of prospective jurors who reside in the clerk's county

and who are randomly selected from the master list to be used during the following

year. Currently, the clerk mails a juror qualification form to each prospective juror

to be summoned, and the prospective juror must complete and return the form, along

with any other information the clerk requests, within ten days.

Under the bill, the clerk must send a notice along with the juror qualification

form that 1) informs the prospective juror that he or she may elect to be excused from

jury service if the prospective juror is at least 70 years of age and, 2) if the prospective

juror is at least 70 years of age, provides the prospective juror with the option to elect

to be excused from jury service for the following year or to be excused from all future

jury service.

Under the bill, the clerk must strike the name of any prospective juror who

elects to be excused from the list of prospective jurors in the county who are qualified

as eligible to serve as jurors for the following year. For any prospective juror who

elects to be excused from all future jury service, the bill requires the clerk to notify

the director of state courts of the prospective juror's election, and the director of state

courts must exclude the person from the statewide master list of potential jurors the

director of state court compiles in future years. Under the bill, a prospective juror

may revoke his or her election by notifying the director of state courts of the

revocation.

Also under current law, a court may excuse a person from jury service if the

court determines that the person cannot fulfill the responsibilities of a juror. The bill

allows a court to also excuse a person from jury service if the person is at least 70

years of age and requests excusal.