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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to access to personal information about jurors in a |
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criminal trial. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Article 35.29, Code of Criminal Procedure, is |
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amended to read as follows: |
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Art. 35.29. PERSONAL INFORMATION ABOUT JURORS. (a) |
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Information collected by the court or by a prosecuting attorney |
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during the jury selection process about a person who serves as a |
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juror, including the juror's home address, home telephone number, |
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social security number, driver's license number, and other personal |
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information, is confidential and may not be disclosed by the court, |
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the prosecuting attorney, [the defense] counsel representing the |
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defendant at trial or in a postconviction proceeding, or any court |
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personnel except as otherwise provided by this article. |
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(b) Information described by Subsection (a) may be |
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disclosed to [on application by] a party in the trial or [on
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application by] a bona fide member of the news media acting in such |
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capacity. The [to the court in which the person is serving or did
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serve as a juror. On a showing of good cause, the] court shall |
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permit disclosure of the information only after an application for |
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the information is made and good cause for receiving the |
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information is shown [sought]. |
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(c) On a written request, the court shall disclose the |
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information described by Subsection (a) that was collected by the |
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court, including providing copies of any juror summons, to counsel |
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representing the defendant in a postconviction proceeding. A |
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showing of good cause is not required for a disclosure under this |
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subsection. This subsection does not authorize the disclosure of |
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information described by Subsection (a) that was collected by a |
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prosecuting attorney. |
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SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only |
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to a jury selected on or after the effective date of this Act. A |
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jury selected before the effective date of this Act is governed by |
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the law in effect on the date the jury was selected, and the former |
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law is continued in effect for that purpose. |
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SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013. |