March, 2010 House Bill 327
To amend section 149.43 and to enact sections 2921.06, 2921.07, and 2921.08 of the Revised Code to prohibit jury tampering, to exclude jury questionnaires and similar documents from public records requests, to require all attorneys and parties to legal proceedings to return all jury questionnaires and other records or notations containing jurors' names, addresses, and phone numbers to the court at the conclusion of a trial, and to prohibit juror harassment.
You may follow this link to read the text of House Bill 327:
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July 1, 2008
Criminal Rule 24 has been revised, effective July 1, 2008, to permit trial Judges to retain alternate jurors during the deliberation of a criminal trial. The alternate jurors may be substituted for a deliberating juror in the event that a deliberating juror is unable to continue. The amended Criminal Rule 24 provides that "the court may retain alternate jurors after the jury retires to deliberate. The court must ensue that a retained alternate does not discuss the case with anyone until that alternate replaces a juror or is discharged. If an alternate replaces a juror after deliberations have begun, the court must instruct the jury to begin its deliberations anew."
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Rep. Thom Collier introduced HB 256 in 2005. This bill will add a number of changes to the Ohio Revised Code concerning how jurors can be excused from duty. You may read the entire text of the bill at the link provided below. This bill would also require a substantial change in the way requests for excusal from potential jurors are made. HB 256 could have as much impact as SB 71 for the courts of Ohio. (Highlights of SB 71 follow.)
OJMA has provided a few of the sections of the bill (below) as well as the link to view the bill in its entirety. Link HB 256 - http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/bills.cfm?ID=126_HB_256
(3)(a) A prospective juror who requests to be excused from jury service for any reason specified in division (A)(8) of this section shall inform the appropriate court employee appointed by the court of the prospective juror's request to be excused by appearing in person before the employee or contacting the employee in writing or by telephone, electronic mail, or other type of electronic notification specified in section 2313.251 of the Revised Code. Upon being informed of the prospective juror's request under this division, the court employee shall provide the form described in division (E) of this section to the prospective juror who appears in person before the employee or, at the request of the prospective juror, shall send the form to the prospective juror by regular mail, electronic mail, or facsimile transmission. Upon receipt of the form, the prospective juror shall complete and sign the form and shall submit the completed and signed form to the court employee from whom the prospective juror received the form either by appearing in person before the employee or by regular mail, electronic mail, or facsimile transmission.
(b) A judge of the court for which a prospective juror was called to jury service shall make the determinations described in divisions (B)(3)(b), (c), and (d) of this section. Prior to making a determination of whether to grant or deny a prospective juror's request to be excused as indicated in the form submitted by the prospective juror under division (B)(3)(a) of this section, the judge may ask the prospective juror any question about any statement or information given by the prospective juror in the form or about any supportive documentation submitted by the prospective juror.
(c) If the judge finds that all of the statements and information in the form and any submitted documentation clearly support the prospective juror's request to be excused, the judge shall grant the request and do both of the following:
(i) Enter the judge's grant of the prospective juror's request to be excused in the space provided on the form for the judge's determination;
(ii) Cause the immediate notification of the prospective juror that the request to be excused has been granted. The notification may be made by telephone, facsimile transmission, electronic mail, or other type of electronic notification specified in section 2313.251 of the Revised Code.
(d) If the judge finds that the statements and information in the form and any submitted documentation do not clearly support the prospective juror's request to be excused, the judge shall deny the request and do both of the following:
(i) Enter the judge's denial of the prospective juror's request to be excused in the space provided on the form for the judge's determination;
(ii) Cause the immediate notification of the prospective juror that the request to be excused has been denied. The notification may be made by telephone, facsimile transmission, electronic mail, or other type of electronic notification specified in section 2313.251 of the Revised Code.
HIGHLIGHTS OF SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 71
Governor Taft signed SB 71 on February 15, 2005 and its provisions will take effect 90 days after its signing.
2313.08 In the selection of names for the annual jury list, jury commissioners are to exclude the names of persons permanently excused from jury service pursuant to 2313.16.
2313.11 Prospective jurors are required to respond to legal and pertinent questions from the Court. The Court must notify jurors of the right to request an in-camera hearing on questions if the information in the response has been requested and the prospective juror asks that the information not be released.
2313.12 Articulates that it is the policy of the State of Ohio that all qualified citizens have an obligation to serve on trial juries when summoned unless excused as provided by law.
2313.13 Requires the Court to postpone a juror’s initial appearance if contact is made by the juror at least two business days prior to the service date if the juror has not been previously granted a postponement and the juror agrees to a specific date in the future that is within six months of the original date of service. A postponement of longer than six months is permitted under extraordinary circumstances. A subsequent postponement may be granted only in the event of an extreme emergency. Examples of extreme emergency are given.
2313.16 Limits the excuses from jury service to defined circumstances. For an excuse based upon a medical or mental condition, the juror must provide documentation from the physician verifying that the condition renders the prospective juror incapable of performing jury duty for a period of up to 24 months. For a financial hardship excuse, the prospective juror must demonstrate an adverse impact upon the ability to pay daily living expenses. Individuals over seventy-five years of age may request to be excused. Persons who are cloistered members of religious organizations or an active member of a recognized Amish sect may request an excuse. The request for excuse is to be initiated by the prospective juror prior to the date of service. A Judge may determine that a person should be permanently excused only when the underlying grounds are of a permanent nature. As provided in 2313.08, permanently excused persons are not to be included on future annual jury lists.
2313.18 Employers continue to be prohibited from discharging or threatening to discharge a permanent employee who gives reasonable notice of the jury summons. Employers may not take disciplinary action that could lead to discharge. An employer may not require an employee to use annual, vacation, or sick leave for time spent on jury duty. An automatic postponement must be granted to a prospective juror if his/her employer as twenty-five or fewer employees and another employee of that business has been summoned for the same term or part of a term.
2313.25 and 2313.251 Allows for Jury Commissioners to establish an electronic notification system for a juror to appear for service. Electronic notifications may include, but are not limited to, cell phones and pagers.
2313.99 Increases the penalty for failure to appear to a fine of not less than one hundred nor more than two hundred fifty dollars and punishment for contempt of court.
2945.28 Change the oath to be given to trial jurors to “Do you swear or affirm that you will diligently inquire into and carefully deliberate all matters between the State of Ohio and the defendant (giving the defendant’s name)? Do you swear or affirm you will do this to the best of your skill and understanding, without bias or prejudice? So help you God?”
2947.23 If a jury is called and reports but the criminal case does not proceed because the defendant fails to appear, the costs incurred in summoning jurors for that particular trial may be included in the costs of prosecution.
Governor Taft signed SB 71 on February 15, 2005 and its provisions will take effect 90 days after its signing.