BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 1488

By: Thompson

Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Under current law, a justice of the peace may summon a prospective juror to the justice court only in the precinct in which the prospective juror resides.  Precincts in large counties vary widely in population.  Because of the smaller number of potential jurors in some precincts, the county is required to reconstitute its jury wheel, from which jurors are summoned for all courts in the county, more often to ensure a sufficient number of prospective jurors to serve in the less populated precincts.  Consequently, the citizens of populous counties find themselves summoned for jury service more frequently. Also, as currently written, the statute makes reference only to justice courts, which does not include small claims courts.

H.B. 1488 authorizes certain counties with a population of 3.3 million or more to summon prospective jurors to report to a justice court either in the precinct in which the person resides or to a justice court in a precinct adjacent to the precinct in which the person resides.  This change provides the county a larger pool from which to draw prospective jurors to serve justice courts, which in turn extends the intervals between jury service for the counties’ citizens.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

H.B. 1488 amends the Government Code to authorize a county with a population of 3.3 million or more that uses interchangeable juries, in addition to summoning a prospective juror to report directly to a justice court in the precinct in which that person resides, to summon a prospective juror to report directly to a justice court in the precinct adjacent to the precinct in which that person resides.

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or, if the act does not receive the necessary vote, the act takes effect September 1, 2009.