Today's Law As Amended


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AB-78 Grand juries.(2023-2024)



As Amends the Law Today


SECTION 1.

 Section 210 of the Code of Civil Procedure is amended to read:

210.
 The summons shall contain the date, time, and place of appearance required of the prospective juror or, alternatively, instructions as to the procedure for calling the jury commissioner for telephonic instructions for appearance as well as such additional juror information as deemed appropriate by the jury commissioner. The summons may, as determined by the court, additionally contain information on how to become a juror on a grand jury pursuant to Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 893) of Title 4 of Part 2 of the Penal Code. 

SEC. 2.

 Section 890 of the Penal Code is amended to read:

890.
 Unless a higher fee or rate of mileage is otherwise provided by statute or county or city and county ordinance, the fees for grand jurors are fifteen dollars ($15) a day  equal to seventy percent of the county median daily income  for each day’s attendance as a grand juror, and the mileage reimbursement applicable to county employees for each mile actually traveled in attending court as a grand juror.

SEC. 3.

 Section 896 of the Penal Code is amended to read:

896.
 (a) Immediately after an order is made pursuant to Section 895, the court shall select the grand jurors required by personal interview for the purpose of ascertaining whether they possess the qualifications prescribed by subdivision (a) of Section 893. If a person so interviewed, in the opinion of the court, possesses the necessary qualifications, in order to be listed the person shall sign a statement declaring that the person will be available for jury service for the number of hours usually required of a member of the grand jury in that county.
(b) The selections shall be made of men and women  persons  who are not exempt from serving and who are suitable and competent to serve as grand jurors pursuant to Sections 893, 898, and 899. The court shall list the persons so selected and required by the order to serve as grand jurors during the ensuing fiscal year of the county, or until a new list of grand jurors is provided, and shall at once place this list in the possession of the jury commissioner. The list shall contain the person’s gender, age, race or ethnicity, and residential ZIP Code or supervisorial district of the respective counties.  

SEC. 4.

 Section 900 of the Penal Code is amended to read:

900.
 On receiving the list of persons selected by the court, the jury commissioner shall file it in the jury commissioner’s office and have the list,  office,  which shall include the name of the judge who selected each person on the list, published  and the person’s gender, age, race or ethnicity, and residential ZIP Code or supervisorial district of the respective counties. A separate list shall be published containing only each person’s name and the name of the judge who selected each person on the list,  one time in a newspaper of general circulation, as defined in Section 6000 of the Government Code, in the county. The jury commissioner shall then do either of the following:
(a) Write down the names on the list onto separate pieces of paper of the same size and appearance, fold each piece so as to conceal the name, and deposit the pieces in a box to be called the “grand jury box.”
(b) Assign a number to each name on the list and place, in a box to be called the “grand jury box,” markers of the same size, shape, and color, each containing a number which that  corresponds with a number on the list.

SEC. 5.

 Section 901 of the Penal Code is amended to read:

901.
 (a) The persons whose names are so returned shall be known as regular jurors, and shall serve for one year and until other persons are selected and returned.
(b) If the superior court so decides, the presiding judge may name up to 10 regular jurors not previously so named, who served on the previous grand jury or are among the list of qualified jurors not selected  and who so consent, to serve for a second year. year in an effort to balance demographic diversity to reflect the general population of the county. 
(c) The court may also decide to select grand jurors pursuant to Section 908.2.

SEC. 6.

 Section 903.3 of the Penal Code is amended to read:

903.3.
 (a)  Pursuant to the rules or instructions adopted by a majority of the judges of the superior court, the jury commissioner shall return to the judges the list of persons recommended by him  the jury commissioner  for grand jury duty. The list shall contain the person’s name, gender, age, race or ethnicity, and residential ZIP Code or supervisorial district of the respective counties. The  judges of the superior court shall examine the jury list so returned and from such list a majority of the judges may select, to serve as grand jurors in the superior court of the county during the ensuing year or until a new list of jurors is required, such persons as, in their opinion, should be selected for grand jury duty. The persons so selected shall, in the opinion of the judges selecting them, be persons suitable and competent to serve as jurors, as required by law. law, and the list of their names shall constitute the list of certified names of impaneled persons. 
(b) A separate list of prospective regular grand jurors, any carry-over grand jurors, persons recommended by the jury commissioner, persons selected by the court, and certified impaneled grand jurors shall contain the person’s gender, age, race or ethnicity, and residential ZIP Code or supervisorial district of the respective counties, shall not contain the person’s name, and shall be published on an internet website used for the disclosure of demographic information for the county’s grand jury.

SEC. 7.

 Section 905.5 of the Penal Code is amended to read:

905.5.
 (a) Except as otherwise provided in subdivision (b), the grand jury shall be impaneled and serve during the fiscal year of the county in the manner provided in this chapter.
(b) The board of supervisors of a county may provide that the grand jury shall be impaneled and serve during the calendar year. The board of supervisors shall provide for an appropriate transition from fiscal year term to calendar year term or from calendar year term to fiscal year term for the grand jury. The provisions of subdivisions (a) and (b) of Section 901 shall not be deemed a limitation on any appropriate transition provisions as determined by resolution or ordinance; and, except as otherwise provided in this chapter, no transition grand jury shall serve more than 18 months.
(c) Members of the grand jury shall be entitled to compensation in the amount described in Section 890, and reimbursed for reasonable travel and other costs associated with the performance of duties.

SEC. 8.

 Section 913.5 is added to the Penal Code, to read:

913.5.
 (a) Each superior court shall, on or before March 15, 2024, and on or before March 15 of each year thereafter, provide the Judicial Council with the list and aggregate data of prospective regular grand jurors, any carry-over grand jurors, persons recommended by the jury commissioner, persons selected by the court, and certified impaneled grand jurors that contains the person’s gender, age, race or ethnicity, and residential ZIP Code or supervisorial district of the respective counties, as well as the name of the judge who selected each person pursuant to Section 903.3.
(b) The Judicial Council shall, on or before June 15, 2024, and on or before June 15 of each year thereafter, report to the Legislature on the information reported by each court pursuant to subdivision (a) on a county and statewide basis.
(c) A report to be submitted pursuant to subdivision (b) shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
SEC. 9.
 If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.