Requires jury commissioners to track juror demographics

The Trial Jury Selection and Management Act requires one jury commissioner to be appointed by, and serve at the pleasure of, a majority of the judges of the superior court in each county. Existing law requires the jury commissioner to maintain records regarding the selection, qualification, and assignment of prospective jurors, and records that provide a clear audit trail regarding a juror’s attendance, jury fees, and mileage.

This bill would require a jury commissioner to develop a form for the purpose of determining if the pool of prospective jurors who appear for jury service accurately represents a cross section of the population of the area served by the court. This bill would require the jury commissioner to use the form solely to collect specified demographic information, and would prohibit using the form to collect personal identifying information or disclosing the form to any person, organization, or agency. The bill would require the jury commissioner to biannually produce a report that aggregates the data collected from the forms, and would require each county court to make these reports public.