HLS 20RS-980 ORIGINAL
2020 Regular Session
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 16
BY REPRESENTATIVE JAMES
CRIMINAL/JUSTICE: Continues the Vera Institute of Justice's study of eligibility and
qualification requirements for jurors
1 A RESOLUTION
2To urge and request the Vera Institute of Justice to continue its study of the eligibility
3 requirements for jurors set forth in the Code of Criminal Procedure and the impact
4 of those requirements on the ability of a jury commission to create a source list of
5 potential jurors that comports with the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution of the
6 United States and Article I, Section 17 of the Constitution of Louisiana.
7 WHEREAS, the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States grants
8criminal defendants the right to a trial by an impartial jury consisting of jurors from the state
9and district in which the crime was alleged to have been committed; and
10 WHEREAS, this right to be judged by a jury of one's peers is the most fundamental
11right of our criminal legal system and, to ensure that defendants going to trial are provided
12a jury of their peers, it is vital to analyze the source lists that are used to select potential
13jurors that represent a fair cross-section of the community; and
14 WHEREAS, studies have demonstrated that solely utilizing voter registration and
15department of motor vehicle records to summon potential jurors is deficient in ensuring the
16defendant's right to have his case tried before a jury of his peers; and
17 WHEREAS, national studies on mock juries and group decision-making demonstrate
18that with an increase in diversity of the group decision-makers there is also an increase in
19objective decision-making, accurate verdicts, and fairness; and
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HR NO. 16
1 WHEREAS, transparency is central to good governance, to the understanding of how
2community members are selected to sit on juries, and to ensuring that eligible persons are
3not unduly excluded; and
4 WHEREAS, under Louisiana law, in order to qualify to serve as a juror, a person
5must not be under indictment for a felony nor have been convicted of a felony for which he
6has not been pardoned by the governor; and
7 WHEREAS, the exclusion of formerly incarcerated persons from juries has been
8rooted in an unverified notion that formerly incarcerated persons harbor an inherent bias and
9lack the necessary character to serve on a jury; and
10 WHEREAS, a recent mock-jury study involving formerly incarcerated persons and
11persons who have never been incarcerated found that these two groups vote similarly, and
12further found that the formerly incarcerated persons outperformed their non-formerly
13incarcerated peers; they were more likely to introduce new facts, and participated in
14deliberations for a greater amount of time; and
15 WHEREAS, this study also concluded that the formerly incarcerated persons were
16equally as likely to convict as their non-formerly incarcerated peers; and
17 WHEREAS, through House Resolution No. 219 of the 2019 Regular Session of the
18Legislature, the House of Representatives requested the Vera Institute of Justice to conduct
19a study of the current eligibility requirements for jurors and the impact of those requirements
20on the creation of source lists of potential jurors.
21 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the
22Legislature of Louisiana does hereby urge and request the Vera Institute of Justice to
23continue its study of the eligibility requirements for jurors set forth in the Code of Criminal
24Procedure and the impact of those requirements on the ability of a jury commission to create
25a source list of potential jurors that comports with the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution
26of the United States and Article I, Section 17 of the Constitution of Louisiana.
27 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that, in this regard, the Vera Institute of Justice may
28work with and receive information from various stakeholders in the criminal legal system,
29including but not limited to the Louisiana Clerks of Court Association, the Louisiana District
30Judges Association, the Louisiana Public Defender Board, the Louisiana District Attorneys
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HR NO. 16
1Association, the office of motor vehicles of the Department of Public Safety and
2Corrections, and the secretary of state.
3 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Vera Institute of Justice may also study
4relevant case law and national practices to better understand other approaches of curating
5a representative jury of one's peers.
6 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be provided to the
7Vera Institute of Justice.
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HR 16 Original 2020 Regular Session James
Requests the Vera Institute of Justice to continue its study of the eligibility requirements for
jurors set forth in the Code of Criminal Procedure and the impact of those requirements on
the ability of a jury commission to create a source list of potential jurors that comports with
the Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and Article I, ยง17 of the La. Constitution.
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