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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES - FLOOR VERSION
STATE OF OKLAHOMA
1st Session of the 59th Legislature (2023 )
HOUSE BILL 1005 By: West (Rick) of the House
and
Burns of the Senate
AS INTRODUCED
An Act relating to jurors; amending 38 O.S. 2021,
Section 28, which relates to jury service exemptions;
authorizing physician assist ant to verify medical
exemption; authorizing advanced practice registered
nurse to verify medical exemption; and providing an
effective date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 3 8 O.S. 2021, Section 28, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 28. A. It is the policy of this state that all
citizens qualified for jury service pursuant to this sec tion have an
obligation to serve on petit juries when summoned by the courts of
this state, unless excused.
B. All citizens of the United States, residing in this state,
having the qualifications of electors of this state, are competent
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jurors to serve on all grand and petit juries within their counties;
provided, that persons over seventy (70) years of age and person s
who have served as a grand or petit juror during the last five (5)
immediately preceding calendar years shall not be compelled to serve
as jurors in this state and the court may excuse or discharge any
juror drawn and summoned as a grand or petit juror i f:
1. The prospective juror has a mental or physical condition
that causes him or her to be incapable of performing jury service.
The juror, or the juror's personal representative, shall provide the
court with documentation fr om a physician, physician assistant, or
advanced practice registered nurse licensed to practice medicine
verifying that a mental or physical condition renders the perso n
unfit for jury service for a period of up to twenty -four (24)
months; or
2. Jury service would cause undue or extreme physical or
financial hardship to the prospective juror or a person under his or
her care or supervision. A judge of the court for whi ch the
individual was called to jury service shall make undue or extreme
physical or financial hardship determinations. The authority to
make these determinations is delegable only to court officials or
personnel who are authorized by the laws of this sta te to function
as members of the judiciary. A person requesting to be excused
based on a finding of undue or extreme physical or financial
hardship shall take all actions nece ssary to have obtained a ruling
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on that request by no later than the date on whi ch the individual is
scheduled to appear for jury duty. For purposes of this section,
"undue or extreme physical or financial hardship " is limited to
circumstances in which an individual would be required to abandon a
person under his or her personal care or supervision due to the
impossibility of obtaining an appropriate substitute caregiv er
during the period of participation in the jury pool or on the jury,
incur costs that would have a substantial adverse impact on the
payment of the individual 's necessary daily living expenses or on
those for whom he or she provides the principal means o f support, or
suffer physical hardship that would result in illness or disease.
Undue or extreme physical or financial hardship does not exist
solely based on the fact that a prospective juror will be required
to be absent from his or her place of employm ent. A person
requesting a judge to grant an excuse based on undue or extreme
physical or financial hardship shall be required to provide the
judge with documentation, such as, but not limited to, federal and
state income tax returns, medical statements f rom licensed
physicians, proof of dependency or guardianship, and similar
documents, which the judge finds to clearly support the request to
be excused. Failure to prov ide satisfactory documentation shall
result in a denial of the request to be excused.
After two (2) years, a person excused from jury service shall
become eligible once again f or qualification as a juror unless the
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person was excused from service permanent ly. A person is excused
from jury service permanently only when the deciding judge
determines that the underlying grounds for being excused are of a
permanent nature.
C. Persons who are not qualified to serve as jurors are:
1. Justices of the Supreme Co urt or the Court of Civil Appeals;
2. Judges of the Court of Criminal Appeals or the d istrict
court;
3. Sheriffs or deputy sheriffs;
4. Municipal or state law enforcement of ficers employed in any
county with a population of two hundred fifty -five thousand
(255,000) or more;
5. Federal law enforcement officers;
6. Licensed attorneys enga ged in the practice of law;
7. Persons who have been convicted of any felony or who hav e
served a term of imprisonment in any penitentiary, state or federal,
for the commission of a felony; provided, any such citizen
convicted, who has been fully restored to his or her civil rights,
shall be eligible to serve as a juror; and
8. Legislators during a session of the Legislature or when
involved in state business.
D. Jailers, or municipal or state law enforcement officers in a
county with a population of les s than two hundred fifty -five
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thousand (255,000), shall be eligible to serve on noncrimi nal
actions only.
E. Upon his or her request, a person shall be exempt from
service as a juror if the person is:
1. A member of the Armed Forces of the United States who is
serving on active duty during a time of war or declared hostilities;
or
2. A mother who is breast-feeding a baby.
F. The district court may provide electronic r esources for
persons summoned for jury duty to obtain information about their
jury service and to submit information to the court, including but
not limited to communications via telephone, text message,
electronic mail and website. The court may utilize an approved
electronic jury management system to record, process, respond to,
and maintain juror communications. The court clerk and the trial
court administrator, under the supervision and control of the
presiding judge or chief judge, or any district ju dge acting as his
or her designee, may be authorized to make determinations regarding
juror excusals, exemptions, disqualifications, postponements and
deferrals. However, det erminations regarding extreme physical or
financial hardship shall be made as pro vided in paragraph 2 of
subsection B of this section.
G. Information provided to the c ourt pursuant to this section
by persons summoned for jury service shall be used exclusi vely for
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purposes of determining jury disqualifications or excusals. No
person shall disclose, copy or permit any person to copy this
information for purposes other th an jury management.
SECTION 2. This act shall become effective November 1, 2023.
COMMITTEE REPORT BY: COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY - CIVIL, dated
02/23/2023 - DO PASS, As Coauthored.