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SB-576 Jury commissioners: juror data collections and maintenance.(2017-2018)

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Date Published: 04/21/2017 04:00 AM
SB576:v97#DOCUMENT

Amended  IN  Senate  April 20, 2017
Amended  IN  Senate  April 06, 2017

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2017–2018 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill
No. 576


Introduced by Senator Wiener

February 17, 2017


An act to amend Section 207 of the Code of Civil Procedure, relating to jury commissioners.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SB 576, as amended, Wiener. Jury commissioners: juror data collections and maintenance.
The Trial Jury Selection and Management Act requires one jury commissioner to be appointed by, and serve at the pleasure of, a majority of the judges of the superior court in each county. Existing law requires the jury commissioner to maintain records regarding the selection, qualification, and assignment of prospective jurors, and records that provide a clear audit trail regarding a juror’s attendance, jury fees, and mileage.
This bill would require a jury commissioner to develop a form for the purpose of determining if the pool of prospective jurors who appear for jury service accurately represents a cross section of the population of the area served by the court. This bill would require the jury commissioner to use the form solely to collect specified demographic information, and would prohibit using the form to collect personal identifying information or making disclosing the form public. to any person, organization, or agency. The bill would require the jury commissioner to biannually produce a report that aggregates the data collected from the forms, and would require each county court to make these reports public.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

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


SECTION 1.

 Section 207 of the Code of Civil Procedure is amended to read:

207.
 (a) The jury commissioner shall maintain records regarding selection, qualification, and assignment of prospective jurors.
(b) (1) The jury commissioner shall develop a single-page, anonymous form for the purpose of determining if the pool of prospective jurors who appear for jury service pursuant to a jury summons accurately represents a cross section of the population of the area served by the court.
(2) The jury commissioner shall provide the form to each prospective juror when he or she first appears for jury service pursuant to a jury summons.
(3) The jury commissioner shall use the form solely to collect the following information from a prospective juror:
(A) Race.
(B) Gender.
(C) Ethnicity.
(D) National origin.
(E) ZIP Code.
(4) The form shall not be used to collect any personally identifying information.
(5) A form that has been filled out by a prospective juror shall not be made available to the public. disclosed to any person, organization, or agency.
(6) Twice each year, the jury commissioner shall produce a report that aggregates the demographic data specified in paragraph (3). Each county court shall maintain a copy of the jury commissioner’s reports and make them publicly available.

(c)The jury commissioner shall collect and maintain the names of prospective jurors who fail to appear after being sent a jury summons and the action, if any, taken by the jury commissioner in response to a prospective juror’s failure to appear.

(d)

(c) The jury commissioner shall maintain records providing a clear audit trail regarding a juror’s attendance, jury fees, and mileage.

(e)

(d) All records and papers maintained or compiled by the jury commissioner in connection with the selection or service of a juror may be kept on an electronic or microfilm medium and such records shall be preserved for at least three years after the list used in their selection is prepared, or for any longer period ordered by the court or the jury commissioner.