HOUSE BILL 153

49th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2009

INTRODUCED BY

Al Park

FOR THE COURTS, CORRECTIONS AND JUSTICE COMMITTEE

AN ACT

RELATING TO JURIES; REQUIRING UPDATES OF JURY DATABASES TO OCCUR EVERY SIX MONTHS RATHER THAN EVERY MONTH.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

     Section 1. Section 38-5-3 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1991, Chapter 71, Section 2, as amended) is amended to read:

     "38-5-3. SOURCE FOR JUROR SELECTION.--

          A. Each county clerk shall make available to the secretary of state a database of registered voters of the clerk's county. The secretary of state shall preserve and make available to the department of information technology, by electronic media, a database of New Mexico registered voters, by county, which shall be updated [monthly] every six months. The director of the motor vehicle division of the taxation and revenue department shall make available by electronic media to the department of information technology a database of driver's license holders in each county, which shall be updated [monthly] every six months. The secretary of taxation and revenue shall make available to the department of information technology, by electronic media, a database of New Mexico personal income tax filers by county, which shall be updated [quarterly] every six months. The updates shall occur in June and December.

          B. The department of information technology shall program the merger of the registered voter, driver's license and personal income tax filer databases from each county to form a master jury database and write a computer program so that a random selection of jurors can be made. A discrimination shall not be exercised except for the elimination of persons who are not eligible for jury service. The administrative office of the courts shall provide specifications for the merging of the registered voter, driver's license and personal income tax filer databases. The merged database information shall be the database that produces the random jury list for the selection of petit or grand jurors for the state courts.

          C. The court shall, by order, designate the number of potential jurors to be selected and the date on which the jurors are to report for empaneling. Within fifteen days after receipt of a copy of the order, the administrative office of the courts shall provide the random jury list to the court. The department of information technology shall print the random jury list and jury summons mailer forms within ten days after receiving the request from the administrative office of the courts. Upon issuance of the order, the department of information technology shall draw from the most current registered voter, driver's license and personal income tax filer databases to create the random jury list.

          D. The department of information technology may transfer the master jury database to a court that has compatible equipment to accept such a transfer. The court accepting the master jury database shall transfer the information to a programmed computer used for the random selection of petit or grand jurors."

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