Senate Bill 0552c1

    Florida Senate - 1998                            CS for SB 552

    By the Committee on Judiciary and Senator Klein





    308-1885-98

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to juries; amending s. 40.015,

  3         F.S.; providing a method for establishing jury

  4         districts, boundaries; providing an effective

  5         date.

  6

  7  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

  8

  9         Section 1.  Section 40.015, Florida Statutes, is

10  amended to read:

11         40.015  Jury districts; counties exceeding 50,000.--

12         (1)  In any county having a population exceeding 50,000

13  according to the last preceding decennial census and one or

14  more locations in addition to the county seat at which the

15  county or circuit court sits and holds jury trials, the chief

16  judge, with the approval of a majority of the county

17  commissioners circuit court judges of the circuit, is

18  authorized to create a jury district for each courthouse

19  location, from which jury lists shall be selected in the

20  manner presently provided by law. The creation of a jury

21  district under this section may be initiated by either the

22  chief judge or a majority of the county commissioners.

23         (2)  In determining the boundaries of a jury district

24  to serve the court located within the district, the chief

25  judge or the board of county commissioners shall seek to avoid

26  any exclusion of any cognizable group.  Each jury district

27  shall include at least 6,000 registered voters.

28         Section 2.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

29  law.

30

31

                                  1

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida Senate - 1998                            CS for SB 552
    308-1885-98




  1          STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
                       COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
  2                         Senate Bill 552

  3

  4  The Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 552 provides that, in
    counties with populations larger than 50,000, the chief judge
  5  of each circuit may create jury districts with the approval of
    a majority of the county commissioners, and either the chief
  6  judge or the county commissioners may initiate the process.

  7

  8

  9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

                                  2