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AB-607 Grand juries.(1991-1992)

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Assembly Bill No. 607
CHAPTER 464

An act to amend Section 904.6 of, and to repeal Sections 904.5, 904.7, 904.8, and 904.9 of, the Penal Code, relating to grand juries, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.

[ Filed with Secretary of State  October 02, 1991. Approved by Governor  October 01, 1991. ]

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 607, Cannella. Grand juries.
(1)  Existing law authorizes the impanelment, at any time, of one additional grand jury in any city and county, as specified.
This bill, in addition, would authorize the impanelment, at any time, of one additional grand jury in any county, as specified.
(2)  Existing law authorizes the impanelment of one additional grand jury in certain specified counties.
This bill would repeal those provisions. (3)  This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Section 904.5 of the Penal Code is repealed.

SEC. 2.

 Section 904.6 of the Penal Code is amended to read:

904.6.
 (a)  In any county or city and county, the presiding judge of the superior court may order and direct the impanelment, at any time, of one additional grand jury pursuant to this section.
(b)  The presiding judge shall select persons, at random, from the list of trial jurors in civil and criminal cases and shall examine them to determine if they are competent to serve as grand jurors. When a sufficient number of competent persons have been selected, they shall constitute the additional grand jury.
(c)  Any additional grand jury which is impaneled pursuant to this section may serve for a period of one year from the date of impanelment, but may be discharged at any time within the one-year period by order of the presiding judge. In no event shall more than one additional grand jury be impaneled pursuant to this section at the same time.
(d)  Whenever an additional grand jury is impaneled pursuant to this section, it may inquire into any matters which are subject to grand jury inquiry and shall have the sole and exclusive jurisdiction to return indictments, except for any matters which the regular grand jury is inquiring into at the time of its impanelment.
(e)  It is the intent of the Legislature that all persons qualified for jury service shall have an equal opportunity to be considered for service as criminal grand jurors in the county in which they reside, and that they have an obligation to serve, when summoned for that purpose. All persons selected for the additional criminal grand jury shall be selected at random from a source or sources reasonably representative of a cross section of the population which is eligible for jury service in the county.

SEC. 3.

 Section 904.7 of the Penal Code is repealed.

SEC. 4.

 Section 904.8 of the Penal Code is repealed.

SEC. 5.

 Section 904.9 of the Penal Code is repealed.

SEC. 6.

 This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
In order to enable counties which need to establish separate grand juries to handle criminal cases as soon as possible, it is necessary that this act take effect immediately.