Florida Senate - 2024 SB 1714
By Senator Powell
24-01249-24 20241714__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to juror sanctions; amending s. 40.23,
3 F.S.; revising available sanctions for any person who
4 is duly summoned to attend court as a juror and fails
5 to attend without any sufficient excuse; prohibiting a
6 court from imposing a term of imprisonment on any
7 person who fails to attend as a juror without any
8 sufficient excuse and is found in contempt of court
9 unless the person is able to obtain legal
10 representation; providing an effective date.
11
12 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
13
14 Section 1. Subsection (3) of section 40.23, Florida
15 Statutes, is amended to read:
16 40.23 Summoning jurors.—
17 (3)(a) Any person who is duly summoned to attend as a juror
18 in any court and who fails to attend without any sufficient
19 excuse is subject to the following sanctions or any combination
20 thereof:
21 1. shall pay A fine not to exceed $1,000 $100, which fine
22 shall be imposed by the court to which the juror was summoned.
23 2. A term of imprisonment not to exceed 3 days.
24 3. An order to perform community service., and,
25 (b) In addition to the sanctions specified in paragraph
26 (a), the such failure to attend as a juror without any
27 sufficient excuse may be considered a contempt of court.
28 However, the court may not order any term of imprisonment for a
29 person found in contempt of court under this paragraph unless
30 the person is able to obtain legal representation.
31 Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.