Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas House Bill HB2575 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	81R10654 JRH-D
2	2	By: Gonzalez Toureilles H.B. No. 2575
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the qualifications for service as a grand or petit juror
8	8	and challenges for cause.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Article 19.08, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
11	11	amended to read as follows:
12	12	Art. 19.08. QUALIFICATIONS. No person shall be selected or
13	13	serve as a grand juror who does not possess the following
14	14	qualifications:
15	15	1. The person must be a citizen of the state, and of
16	16	the county in which the person is to serve, and be qualified under
17	17	the Constitution and laws to vote in said county, provided that the
18	18	person's failure to register to vote shall not be held to disqualify
19	19	the person in this instance;
20	20	2. The person must be of sound mind and good moral
21	21	character;
22	22	3. The person must be able to read and write;
23	23	4. The person must not have been convicted of
24	24	[misdemeanor theft or] a felony;
25	25	5. The person must not be under indictment or other
26	26	legal accusation for [misdemeanor theft or] a felony;
27	27	6. The person must not be related within the third
28	28	degree of consanguinity or second degree of affinity, as determined
29	29	under Chapter 573, Government Code, to any person selected to serve
30	30	or serving on the same grand jury;
31	31	7. The person must not have served as grand juror or
32	32	jury commissioner in the year before the date on which the term of
33	33	court for which the person has been selected as grand juror begins;
34	34	8. The person must not be a complainant in any matter
35	35	to be heard by the grand jury during the term of court for which the
36	36	person has been selected as a grand juror.
37	37	SECTION 2. Article 35.16(a), Code of Criminal Procedure, is
38	38	amended to read as follows:
39	39	(a) A challenge for cause is an objection made to a
40	40	particular juror, alleging some fact which renders the juror
41	41	incapable or unfit to serve on the jury. A challenge for cause may
42	42	be made by either the state or the defense for any one of the
43	43	following reasons:
44	44	1. That the juror is not a qualified voter in the state
45	45	and county under the Constitution and laws of the state; provided,
46	46	however, the failure to register to vote shall not be a
47	47	disqualification;
48	48	2. That the juror has been convicted of [misdemeanor
49	49	theft or] a felony;
50	50	3. That the juror is under indictment or other legal
51	51	accusation for [misdemeanor theft or] a felony;
52	52	4. That the juror is insane;
53	53	5. That the juror has such defect in the organs of
54	54	feeling or hearing, or such bodily or mental defect or disease as to
55	55	render the juror unfit for jury service, or that the juror is
56	56	legally blind and the court in its discretion is not satisfied that
57	57	the juror is fit for jury service in that particular case;
58	58	6. That the juror is a witness in the case;
59	59	7. That the juror served on the grand jury which found
60	60	the indictment;
61	61	8. That the juror served on a petit jury in a former
62	62	trial of the same case;
63	63	9. That the juror has a bias or prejudice in favor of
64	64	or against the defendant;
65	65	10. That from hearsay, or otherwise, there is
66	66	established in the mind of the juror such a conclusion as to the
67	67	guilt or innocence of the defendant as would influence the juror in
68	68	finding a verdict. To ascertain whether this cause of challenge
69	69	exists, the juror shall first be asked whether, in the juror's
70	70	opinion, the conclusion so established will influence the juror's
71	71	verdict. If the juror answers in the affirmative, the juror shall
72	72	be discharged without further interrogation by either party or the
73	73	court. If the juror answers in the negative, the juror shall be
74	74	further examined as to how the juror's conclusion was formed, and
75	75	the extent to which it will affect the juror's action; and, if it
76	76	appears to have been formed from reading newspaper accounts,
77	77	communications, statements or reports or mere rumor or hearsay, and
78	78	if the juror states that the juror feels able, notwithstanding such
79	79	opinion, to render an impartial verdict upon the law and the
80	80	evidence, the court, if satisfied that the juror is impartial and
81	81	will render such verdict, may, in its discretion, admit the juror as
82	82	competent to serve in such case. If the court, in its discretion,
83	83	is not satisfied that the juror is impartial, the juror shall be
84	84	discharged;
85	85	11. That the juror cannot read or write.
86	86	No juror shall be impaneled when it appears that the juror is
87	87	subject to the second, third or fourth grounds of challenge for
88	88	cause set forth above, although both parties may consent. All
89	89	other grounds for challenge may be waived by the party or parties in
90	90	whose favor such grounds of challenge exist.
91	91	In this subsection "legally blind" shall mean having not more
92	92	than 20/200 of visual acuity in the better eye with correcting
93	93	lenses, or visual acuity greater than 20/200 but with a limitation
94	94	in the field of vision such that the widest diameter of the visual
95	95	field subtends an angle no greater than 20 degrees.
96	96	SECTION 3. Section 62.102, Government Code, is amended to
97	97	read as follows:
98	98	Sec. 62.102. GENERAL QUALIFICATIONS FOR JURY SERVICE. A
99	99	person is disqualified to serve as a petit juror unless the person:
100	100	(1) is at least 18 years of age;
101	101	(2) is a citizen of this state and of the county in
102	102	which the person is to serve as a juror;
103	103	(3) is qualified under the constitution and laws to
104	104	vote in the county in which the person is to serve as a juror;
105	105	(4) is of sound mind and good moral character;
106	106	(5) is able to read and write;
107	107	(6) has not served as a petit juror for six days during
108	108	the preceding three months in the county court or during the
109	109	preceding six months in the district court;
110	110	(7) has not been convicted of [misdemeanor theft or] a
111	111	felony; and
112	112	(8) is not under indictment or other legal accusation
113	113	for [misdemeanor theft or] a felony.
114	114	SECTION 4. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
115	115	qualifications for jury service for a person required to appear for
116	116	jury service by a summons made on or after September 1, 2009. The
117	117	qualifications of a person required to appear for jury service
118	118	before September 1, 2009, are covered by the law in effect on the
119	119	date the summons is made, and the former law is continued in effect
120	120	for that purpose.
121	121	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.