81R10654 JRH-D
By: Gonzalez Toureilles H.B. No. 2575
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the qualifications for service as a grand or petit juror
and challenges for cause.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Article 19.08, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended to read as follows:
Art. 19.08. QUALIFICATIONS. No person shall be selected or
serve as a grand juror who does not possess the following
qualifications:
1. The person must be a citizen of the state, and of
the county in which the person is to serve, and be qualified under
the Constitution and laws to vote in said county, provided that the
person's failure to register to vote shall not be held to disqualify
the person in this instance;
2. The person must be of sound mind and good moral
character;
3. The person must be able to read and write;
4. The person must not have been convicted of
[misdemeanor theft or] a felony;
5. The person must not be under indictment or other
legal accusation for [misdemeanor theft or] a felony;
6. The person must not be related within the third
degree of consanguinity or second degree of affinity, as determined
under Chapter 573, Government Code, to any person selected to serve
or serving on the same grand jury;
7. The person must not have served as grand juror or
jury commissioner in the year before the date on which the term of
court for which the person has been selected as grand juror begins;
8. The person must not be a complainant in any matter
to be heard by the grand jury during the term of court for which the
person has been selected as a grand juror.
SECTION 2. Article 35.16(a), Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) A challenge for cause is an objection made to a
particular juror, alleging some fact which renders the juror
incapable or unfit to serve on the jury. A challenge for cause may
be made by either the state or the defense for any one of the
following reasons:
1. That the juror is not a qualified voter in the state
and county under the Constitution and laws of the state; provided,
however, the failure to register to vote shall not be a
disqualification;
2. That the juror has been convicted of [misdemeanor
theft or] a felony;
3. That the juror is under indictment or other legal
accusation for [misdemeanor theft or] a felony;
4. That the juror is insane;
5. That the juror has such defect in the organs of
feeling or hearing, or such bodily or mental defect or disease as to
render the juror unfit for jury service, or that the juror is
legally blind and the court in its discretion is not satisfied that
the juror is fit for jury service in that particular case;
6. That the juror is a witness in the case;
7. That the juror served on the grand jury which found
the indictment;
8. That the juror served on a petit jury in a former
trial of the same case;
9. That the juror has a bias or prejudice in favor of
or against the defendant;
10. That from hearsay, or otherwise, there is
established in the mind of the juror such a conclusion as to the
guilt or innocence of the defendant as would influence the juror in
finding a verdict. To ascertain whether this cause of challenge
exists, the juror shall first be asked whether, in the juror's
opinion, the conclusion so established will influence the juror's
verdict. If the juror answers in the affirmative, the juror shall
be discharged without further interrogation by either party or the
court. If the juror answers in the negative, the juror shall be
further examined as to how the juror's conclusion was formed, and
the extent to which it will affect the juror's action; and, if it
appears to have been formed from reading newspaper accounts,
communications, statements or reports or mere rumor or hearsay, and
if the juror states that the juror feels able, notwithstanding such
opinion, to render an impartial verdict upon the law and the
evidence, the court, if satisfied that the juror is impartial and
will render such verdict, may, in its discretion, admit the juror as
competent to serve in such case. If the court, in its discretion,
is not satisfied that the juror is impartial, the juror shall be
discharged;
11. That the juror cannot read or write.
No juror shall be impaneled when it appears that the juror is
subject to the second, third or fourth grounds of challenge for
cause set forth above, although both parties may consent. All
other grounds for challenge may be waived by the party or parties in
whose favor such grounds of challenge exist.
In this subsection "legally blind" shall mean having not more
than 20/200 of visual acuity in the better eye with correcting
lenses, or visual acuity greater than 20/200 but with a limitation
in the field of vision such that the widest diameter of the visual
field subtends an angle no greater than 20 degrees.
SECTION 3. Section 62.102, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 62.102. GENERAL QUALIFICATIONS FOR JURY SERVICE. A
person is disqualified to serve as a petit juror unless the person:
(1) is at least 18 years of age;
(2) is a citizen of this state and of the county in
which the person is to serve as a juror;
(3) is qualified under the constitution and laws to
vote in the county in which the person is to serve as a juror;
(4) is of sound mind and good moral character;
(5) is able to read and write;
(6) has not served as a petit juror for six days during
the preceding three months in the county court or during the
preceding six months in the district court;
(7) has not been convicted of [misdemeanor theft or] a
felony; and
(8) is not under indictment or other legal accusation
for [misdemeanor theft or] a felony.
SECTION 4. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
qualifications for jury service for a person required to appear for
jury service by a summons made on or after September 1, 2009. The
qualifications of a person required to appear for jury service
before September 1, 2009, are covered by the law in effect on the
date the summons is made, and the former law is continued in effect
for that purpose.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.