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Thursday, June 29, 2006

Ind. Courts - "Law makes more people duty-bound "

The Lafayette Journal and Courier reports today, in a story by Joe Gerrety, on the new law eliminating most exemptions from jury duty. Some quotes:

Question: What do veterinarians, dentists and ferry boat captains have in common in Indiana?

It sounds like a riddle, but people concerned about the justice system in Indiana say the answer -- they all have automatic jury duty exemptions -- is no punch line.

It's an illustration of how antiquated laws have undermined litigants' right to trial by a jury of their peers, said state Sen. Beverly Gard, R-Greenfield, who sponsored legislation eliminating the exemptions. As of next week, a list of seemingly arbitrary automatic exemptions from jury service will be removed.

Senate Bill 232, approved unanimously by the Indiana General Assembly and signed into law by Gov. Mitch Daniels this past winter, takes effect July 1. It eliminates automatic jury exemptions for categories of people, including people over 65, people on active duty in the armed services, government officials, veterinarians, dentists, police officers, firefighters, correction officers and, yes, ferry boat operators. * * *

Judge Les Meade of Tippecanoe Superior Court 5, who served on the jury committee of the Indiana Judicial Conference, which recommended the law change, said it fits well with recent changes in the jury assembly process.

Indiana courts have shifted in recent years away from using voter rolls to select prospective jurors and now rely mostly on driver's license and income taxpayer rolls.

"What we have tried to do in recent years is to make the jury assembly process as broad as possible," Meade said. "We've made real progress in that process."

But the variety of automatic juror exemptions that existed in various sections of the Indiana Code prevented juror pools from being truly representative, Meade said.

The same statute that removes exemptions makes it possible for a prospective juror to seek a one-time deferral, or postponement, of jury duty if the person can demonstrate "hardship, extreme inconvenience or necessity."

Posted by Marcia Oddi on June 29, 2006 08:03 AM
Posted to Indiana Courts