By Ms. Wilkerson, a petition (accompanied by bill,
Senate, No. 2198) of Dianne Wilkerson for legislation to
improve the jury system of the Commonwealth. The
Judiciary. |
By Ms. Wilkerson, a petition (accompanied by bill,
Senate, No. 2198) of Dianne Wilkerson for legislation to
improve the jury system of the Commonwealth. The
Judiciary. |
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
SECTION 1. TO IMPROVE THE JURY SYSTEM OF THE COMMONWEALTH
In the interest of ensuring the daily presence of a more diverse demographic cross-section of the population in each jury pool of each judicial district within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and notwithstanding the provisions of any general or special law to the contrary, including privacy laws and practices, the Office of the Secretary of State of the Commonwealth, the Registry of Motor Vehicles, the Department of Revenue, the Department of Transitional Assistance, the Division of Employment and Training and each of the 351 cities and towns of the Commonwealth shall, not later than July 1, annually, provide to the Office of Jury Commissioner or its designee(s), a list containing data maintained by each agency and each city and town for each Massachusetts resident 17 years of age and older. Said data shall consist of the name, mailing address, date of birth and gender designation and, where available, race/ethnicity data, social security number, and the date of recording of said data.
Specifically, the Office of the Secretary of State of the Commonwealth shall provide all resident data maintained by the Central Voter Registry. The Registry of Motor Vehicles shall furnish all such data maintained for drivers and identification card holders. The Department of Revenue shall furnish all such data maintained for each filer. The Department of Transitional Assistance shall furnish all such data maintained for each person applying for and/or receiving benefits. The Division of Employment and Training shall furnish all such data maintained for each person applying for and/or receiving unemployment compensation. The 351 cities and towns of the Commonwealth shall furnish all data information collected pursuant to the mandates of section 4 of chapter 51 of the General Laws.
Neither the Office of Jury Commissioner nor its designee(s) shall reveal to others any data, including the source thereof, contained in any record or on any list provided by the Office of the Secretary of State of the Commonwealth, the Registry of Motor Vehicles, the Department of Revenue, the Department of Transitional Assistance, the Division of Employment and Training, and the 351 cities and towns of the Commonwealth except as necessary for the administration of chapter 234A of the General Laws and in accordance with the provisions thereof. The use of said data and lists derived therefrom by the Office of Jury Commissioner or its designee(s) for any purpose other than juror summonsing is expressly prohibited.
On or before August 15, annually, the Office of Jury Commissioner shall cause to be compiled numbered residents lists and files from said data in the manner set out in sections 10 and 11 of chapter 234A of the General Laws in a format consistent with requirements established by the Office of Jury Commissioner pursuant to chapter 234A of the General Laws. On or before September 15, annually, following the compilation of said numbered residents lists and files, the Office of Jury Commissioner shall cause the master juror list for each judicial district to be prepared for the summonsing of jurors. At least twelve weeks prior to the commencement of any term of grand or trial juror service, the Office of Jury Commissioner shall, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 234A of the General Laws, summons jurors from the master juror lists created from said lists and files.
