Length of juror service

(a) Purpose

This rule implements Government Code section 68550, which is intended to make jury service more convenient and alleviate the problem of potential jurors refusing to appear for jury duty by shortening the time a person would be required to serve to one day or one trial. The exemptions authorized by the rule are intended to be of limited scope and duration, and they must be applied with the goal of achieving full compliance throughout the state as soon as possible.

(b) Definitions

As used in this rule:

(1) "Trial court system" means all the courts of a county.

(2) "One trial" means jury service provided by a citizen after being sworn as a trial juror.

(3) "One day" means the hours of one normal court working day (the hours a court is open to the public for business).

(4) "On call" means all same-day notice procedures used to inform prospective jurors of the time they are to report for jury service.

(5) “Standby” means all previous-day notice procedures used to inform prospective jurors of their date to report for service. “Telephone standby” means all previous-day notice procedures used to inform prospective jurors of their date to report for service.

(c) One-day/one-trial

Each trial court system must implement a juror management program under which a person’s jury service obligation is fulfilled when the person has:

(1) Served on one trial until discharged;

(2) Been assigned on one day to one or more trial departments for jury selection and served through the completion of jury selection or until excused by the jury commissioner;

(3) Attended court but was not assigned to a trial department for selection of a jury before the end of that day;

(4) Served one day on call; or

(5) Served on standby for no more than five court days.

(d) Exemption

(1) Good cause

The Judicial Council may grant an exemption from the requirements of this rule for a specified period of time if the trial court system demonstrates good cause by establishing that:

(A) The cost of implementing a one-day/one-trial system is so high that the trial court system would be unable to provide essential services to the public if required to implement such a system; or

(B) The requirements of this rule cannot be met because of the size of the population in the county compared to the number of jury trials.

(2) Application

Any application for exemption from the requirements of this rule must be submitted to the Judicial Council no later than September 1, 1999. The application must demonstrate good cause for the exemption sought and must include either:

(A) A plan to fully comply with this rule by a specified date; or

(B) An alternative plan that would advance the purposes of this rule to the extent possible, given the conditions in the county.

(3) Decision

If the council finds good cause, it may grant an exemption for a limited period of time and on such conditions as it deems appropriate to further the purposes of this rule.