Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas House Bill HB282 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	By: Dutton, Reynolds, Miles, Giddings H.B. No. 282
2	2	Substitute the following for H.B. No. 282:
3	3	By: Herrero C.S.H.B. No. 282
4	4
5	5
6	6	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
7	7	AN ACT
8	8	relating to the organization of a grand jury.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Article 19.01, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
11	11	amended to read as follows:
12	12	Art. 19.01. SELECTION AND SUMMONS OF PROSPECTIVE GRAND
13	13	JURORS [APPOINTMENT OF JURY COMMISSIONERS; SELECTION WITHOUT JURY
14	14	COMMISSION]. [(a)] The [district judge, at or during any term of
15	15	court, shall appoint not less than three, nor more than five persons
16	16	to perform the duties of jury commissioners, and shall cause the
17	17	sheriff to notify them of their appointment, and when and where they
18	18	are to appear. The district judge shall, in the order appointing
19	19	such commissioners, designate whether such commissioners shall
20	20	serve during the term at which selected or for the next succeeding
21	21	term. Such commissioners shall receive as compensation for each
22	22	day or part thereof they may serve the sum of Ten Dollars, and they
23	23	shall possess the following qualifications:
24	24	[1. Be intelligent citizens of the county and able to read
25	25	and write the English language;
26	26	[2. Be qualified jurors in the county;
27	27	[3. Have no suit in said court which requires intervention
28	28	of a jury;
29	29	[4. Be residents of different portions of the county; and
30	30	[5. The same person shall not act as jury commissioner more
31	31	than once in any 12-month period.
32	32	[(b) In lieu of the selection of prospective jurors by means
33	33	of a jury commission, the] district judge shall [may] direct that 20
34	34	to 125 prospective grand jurors be selected and summoned, with
35	35	return on summons, in the same manner as for the selection and
36	36	summons of panels for the trial of civil cases in the district
37	37	courts. The judge shall try the qualifications for and excuses from
38	38	service as a grand juror and impanel the completed grand jury [in
39	39	the same manner] as provided by this chapter [for grand jurors
40	40	selected by a jury commission].
41	41	SECTION 2. Article 19.07, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
42	42	amended to read as follows:
43	43	Art. 19.07. EXTENSION BEYOND TERM OF PERIOD FOR WHICH GRAND
44	44	JURORS SHALL SIT. If prior to the expiration of the term for which
45	45	the grand jury was impaneled, it is made to appear by a declaration
46	46	of the foreman or of a majority of the grand jurors in open court,
47	47	that the investigation by the grand jury of the matters before it
48	48	cannot be concluded before the expiration of the term, the judge of
49	49	the district court in which said grand jury was impaneled may, by
50	50	the entry of an order on the minutes of said court, extend, from
51	51	time to time, for the purpose of concluding the investigation of
52	52	matters then before it, the period during which said grand jury
53	53	shall sit, for not to exceed a total of ninety days after the
54	54	expiration of the term for which it was impaneled, and all
55	55	indictments pertaining thereto returned by the grand jury within
56	56	said extended period shall be as valid as if returned before the
57	57	expiration of the term. [The extension of the term of a grand jury
58	58	under this article does not affect the provisions of Article 19.06
59	59	relating to the selection and summoning of grand jurors for each
60	60	regularly scheduled term.]
61	61	SECTION 3. Article 19.08, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
62	62	amended to read as follows:
63	63	Art. 19.08. QUALIFICATIONS. No person shall be selected or
64	64	serve as a grand juror who does not possess the following
65	65	qualifications:
66	66	1. The person must be a citizen of the state, and of
67	67	the county in which the person is to serve, and be qualified under
68	68	the Constitution and laws to vote in said county, provided that the
69	69	person's failure to register to vote shall not be held to disqualify
70	70	the person in this instance;
71	71	2. The person must be of sound mind and good moral
72	72	character;
73	73	3. The person must be able to read and write;
74	74	4. The person must not have been convicted of
75	75	misdemeanor theft or a felony;
76	76	5. The person must not be under indictment or other
77	77	legal accusation for misdemeanor theft or a felony;
78	78	6. The person must not be related within the third
79	79	degree of consanguinity or second degree of affinity, as determined
80	80	under Chapter 573, Government Code, to any person selected to serve
81	81	or serving on the same grand jury;
82	82	7. The person must not have served as grand juror [or
83	83	jury commissioner] in the year before the date on which the term of
84	84	court for which the person has been selected as grand juror begins;
85	85	and
86	86	8. The person must not be a complainant in any matter
87	87	to be heard by the grand jury during the term of court for which the
88	88	person has been selected as a grand juror.
89	89	SECTION 4. Article 19.19, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
90	90	amended to read as follows:
91	91	Art. 19.19. JURORS TO ATTEND FORTHWITH. The jurors
92	92	provided for in Article 19.18 [the two preceding Articles] shall be
93	93	summoned in person to attend before the court forthwith.
94	94	SECTION 5. Article 19.20, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
95	95	amended to read as follows:
96	96	Art. 19.20. TO SUMMON QUALIFIED PERSONS. On [Upon]
97	97	directing the sheriff to summon grand jurors [not selected by the
98	98	jury commissioners], the court shall instruct the sheriff [him]
99	99	that the sheriff [he] must not summon any [no] person to serve as a
100	100	grand juror who does not possess the qualifications prescribed by
101	101	law.
102	102	SECTION 6. Article 19.23, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
103	103	amended to read as follows:
104	104	Art. 19.23. MODE OF TEST. In trying the qualifications of
105	105	any person to serve as a grand juror, he shall be asked:
106	106	1. Are you a citizen of this state and county, and qualified
107	107	to vote in this county, under the Constitution and laws of this
108	108	state?
109	109	2. Are you able to read and write?
110	110	3. Have you ever been convicted of misdemeanor theft or any
111	111	[a] felony?
112	112	4. Are you under indictment or other legal accusation for
113	113	misdemeanor theft or for any felony?
114	114	SECTION 7. Article 19.26, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
115	115	amended to read as follows:
116	116	Art. 19.26. JURY IMPANELED. (a) When at least fourteen
117	117	qualified jurors are found to be present, the court shall select
118	118	twelve fair and impartial persons to serve as grand jurors and two
119	119	additional persons to serve as alternate grand jurors.
120	120	(b) The court shall proceed to impanel the grand jury,
121	121	unless a challenge is made, which may be to the array or to any
122	122	particular person presented to serve as a grand juror or an
123	123	alternate.
124	124	[(b) The grand jury is composed of not more than twelve
125	125	qualified jurors.] In addition, the court shall [qualify and]
126	126	impanel [not more than] two alternates to serve on disqualification
127	127	or unavailability of a juror during the term of the grand jury. On
128	128	learning that a grand juror has become disqualified or unavailable
129	129	during the term of the grand jury, the attorney representing the
130	130	state shall prepare an order for the court identifying the
131	131	disqualified or unavailable juror, stating the basis for the
132	132	disqualification or unavailability, dismissing the disqualified or
133	133	unavailable juror from the grand jury, and naming one of the
134	134	alternates as a member of the grand jury. The procedure established
135	135	by this subsection may be used on disqualification or
136	136	unavailability of a second grand juror during the term of the grand
137	137	jury. For purposes of this subsection, a juror is unavailable if
138	138	the juror is unable to participate fully in the duties of the grand
139	139	jury because of the death of the juror, [or] a physical or mental
140	140	illness of the juror, or any other reason the court determines
141	141	constitutes good cause for dismissing the juror.
142	142	SECTION 8. Article 19.30, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
143	143	amended to read as follows:
144	144	Art. 19.30. CHALLENGE TO "ARRAY". A challenge to the
145	145	"array" shall be made in writing for these causes only:
146	146	1. That those summoned as grand jurors are not in fact those
147	147	selected by the method provided by Article 19.01 [19.01(b) of this
148	148	chapter or by the jury commissioners]; and
149	149	2. That [In case of grand jurors summoned by order of the
150	150	court, that] the officer who summoned the grand jurors [them had]
151	151	acted corruptly in summoning any one or more of them.
152	152	SECTION 9. Section 24.014(b), Government Code, is amended
153	153	to read as follows:
154	154	(b) The judge may impanel [appoint jury commissioners who
155	155	select and draw] grand and petit jurors as provided by law. The
156	156	jurors may be summoned to appear before the court at the time
157	157	designated by the judge.
158	158	SECTION 10. Section 24.135(c), Government Code, is amended
159	159	to read as follows:
160	160	(c) The judge of the 33rd District Court may [select jury
161	161	commissioners and] impanel grand juries in each county. The judge
162	162	of the 33rd District Court may alternate the drawing of grand juries
163	163	with the judge of any other district court in each county within the
164	164	33rd Judicial District and may order grand and petit juries to be
165	165	drawn for any term of the court as the judge determines is
166	166	necessary, by an order entered in the minutes of the
167	167	court. Indictments within each county may be returned to either
168	168	court within that county.
169	169	SECTION 11. Section 24.377(b), Government Code, is amended
170	170	to read as follows:
171	171	(b) The judge of the 198th District Court may [select jury
172	172	commissioners and] impanel grand juries in each county. The judge
173	173	of the 198th District Court may alternate the drawing of grand
174	174	juries with the judge of any other district court in each county
175	175	within the judge's district and may order grand and petit juries to
176	176	be drawn for any term of the judge's court as in the judge's judgment
177	177	is necessary, by an order entered in the minutes of the court.
178	178	Indictments within each county may be returned to either court
179	179	within that county.
180	180	SECTION 12. Section 24.396(b), Government Code, is amended
181	181	to read as follows:
182	182	(b) The judge of the 218th District Court may [select grand
183	183	jury commissioners and] impanel grand juries in each county in the
184	184	district but is not required to impanel a grand jury in any county
185	185	except when the judge [he] considers it necessary. The judge may
186	186	alternate the impaneling of grand juries in each county with the
187	187	judge of any other district court in that county, or the judges may
188	188	by agreement determine which one of the courts will impanel the
189	189	grand juries. Indictments within each county may be returned to any
190	190	district court within that county. All grand and petit juries drawn
191	191	for one district court in each county are interchangeable with any
192	192	other district court in that county as if the jury had been drawn
193	193	for the court in which it is used.
194	194	SECTION 13. Section 24.487(b), Government Code, is amended
195	195	to read as follows:
196	196	(b) The judge of the 341st District Court may [select jury
197	197	commissioners and] impanel grand juries in Webb County. The judge
198	198	of the 341st District Court may alternate the drawing of grand
199	199	juries with the judge of any other district court in the county. By
200	200	order entered on the minutes, for any term that the judge considers
201	201	it necessary, the judge may order grand and petit juries to be
202	202	drawn.
203	203	SECTION 14. Section 24.568(d), Government Code, is amended
204	204	to read as follows:
205	205	(d) The judge of the 424th District Court may [select jury
206	206	commissioners and] impanel grand juries in each county. The judge
207	207	of the 424th District Court may alternate the drawing of grand
208	208	juries with the judge of any other district court in each county
209	209	within the 424th Judicial District and may order grand and petit
210	210	juries to be drawn for any term of the court as the judge determines
211	211	is necessary, by an order entered in the minutes of the
212	212	court. Indictments within each county may be returned to either
213	213	court within that county.
214	214	SECTION 15. Section 24.596(b), Government Code, is amended
215	215	to read as follows:
216	216	(b) The judge of the 452nd District Court may [select jury
217	217	commissioners and] impanel grand juries in each county. The judge
218	218	of the 452nd District Court may order grand and petit juries to be
219	219	drawn for any term of the judge's court as in the judge's judgment is
220	220	necessary, by an order entered in the minutes of the court.
221	221	SECTION 16. The heading to Section 402.024, Government
222	222	Code, is amended to read as follows:
223	223	Sec. 402.024. DEFENSE OF DISTRICT ATTORNEY[, GRAND JURY
224	224	COMMISSIONER,] OR GRAND JUROR.
225	225	SECTION 17. Section 402.024(b), Government Code, is amended
226	226	to read as follows:
227	227	(b) The attorney general shall defend a state [grand jury
228	228	commissioner or] grand juror who is a defendant in an action in any
229	229	court if:
230	230	(1) the suit involves an act of the person while in the
231	231	performance of duties as a [grand jury commissioner or] grand
232	232	juror; and
233	233	(2) the person requests the attorney general's
234	234	assistance in the defense.
235	235	SECTION 18. The following provisions are repealed:
236	236	(1) Articles 19.02, 19.03, 19.04, 19.05, 19.06, 19.09,
237	237	19.10, 19.11, 19.12, 19.13, 19.14, 19.15, and 19.17, Code of
238	238	Criminal Procedure; and
239	239	(2) Section 24.014(c), Government Code.
240	240	SECTION 19. Section 402.024(b), Government Code, as amended
241	241	by this Act, applies only to a court action arising from an act of a
242	242	person that occurs on or after the effective date of this Act. A
243	243	court action arising from an act of a person that occurred before
244	244	the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on
245	245	the date the act occurred, and the former law is continued in effect
246	246	for that purpose.
247	247	SECTION 20. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.