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HB108 • 2026

CRIMINAL/JURY TRIALS: Provides relative to juror qualifications

CRIMINAL/JURY TRIALS: Provides relative to juror qualifications

Crime
Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor
Vincent Cox III
Last action
2026-05-29
Official status
Signed by the Governor - Act 419
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Checked against official source text during the last sync.

Juror Qualifications for Criminal Trials

This act changes the qualifications needed to be a juror in criminal cases by adding restrictions on people who have been convicted of violent or sexual crimes.

What This Bill Does

  • Changes the law so that anyone with a felony conviction for a crime of violence cannot serve as a juror in criminal trials.
  • Adds a rule saying that people with a felony sex offense conviction also can't be jurors in criminal cases.

Who It Names or Affects

  • People with felony convictions for crimes of violence will not be able to serve as jurors in criminal trials.
  • Individuals who have been convicted of a felony sex offense are also barred from serving as jurors in criminal cases.

Terms To Know

Felony
A serious crime that is usually punished by imprisonment for more than one year or sometimes even death.
Crime of violence
An offense involving the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against another person.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The act does not specify what happens if a juror is found to have been convicted of a crime after they are already serving on a jury.
  • It remains unclear how this change will affect the number and diversity of potential jurors in criminal cases.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

Filed

Plain English: SSHB108 4825 5626 HOUSE SUMMARY OF SENATE AMENDMENTS HB 108 2026 Regular Session Cox CRIMINAL/JURY TRIALS: Provides relative to juror qualifications Synopsis of Senate Amendments 1.

  • SSHB108 4825 5626 HOUSE SUMMARY OF SENATE AMENDMENTS HB 108 2026 Regular Session Cox CRIMINAL/JURY TRIALS: Provides relative to juror qualifications Synopsis of Senate Amendments 1.
  • Adds clarifying language that qualifications for jurors in civil cases are the same as in the Code of Criminal Procedure, except for the prohibition against persons convicted of felony crimes of violence or felony sex offenses.
  • 2.
  • Makes technical changes.
Filed

Plain English: The amendment to HB108 involves a vote on whether the House agrees with changes made by the Senate regarding juror qualifications for criminal jury trials.

  • The amendment reflects a roll call vote where the House members decided whether to concur with the Senate's amendments to HB108, which relates to juror qualifications in criminal cases.
  • The provided text does not specify the exact changes made by the Senate or what those changes entail regarding juror qualifications.
Adopted

Plain English: SLBHB108 2395 3389 LEGISLATIVE BUREAU AMENDMENTS 2026 Regular Session Amendments proposed by Legislative Bureau to Engrossed House Bill No.

  • SLBHB108 2395 3389 LEGISLATIVE BUREAU AMENDMENTS 2026 Regular Session Amendments proposed by Legislative Bureau to Engrossed House Bill No.
  • 108 by Representative Cox 1 AMENDMENT NO.
  • 1 2 In Senate Committee Amendment No.
  • 1 proposed by the Senate Committee on Judiciary C 3 and adopted by the Senate on May 6, 2026, on page 1, line 2, change "line 1" to "line 2" Page 1 of 1
Adopted

Plain English: The amendment adds the word 'felony' to specify that certain juror qualifications apply only to felony cases.

  • Adds the word 'felony' after 'a' on page 1, line 12 of HB108.
  • Adds the word 'felony' after 'a' on page 1, line 13 of HB108.
  • The exact impact and context of these changes are not fully explained in the provided amendment text.
Adopted

Plain English: The amendment changes the qualifications for jurors in criminal and civil cases by prohibiting certain convicted individuals from serving as jurors in criminal cases but allowing them to serve in civil cases.

  • Adds a new rule that people who have been convicted of violent crimes or sex offenses cannot be part of juries in criminal trials.
  • Modifies an existing law about juror qualifications for civil cases, stating that those with convictions for violent crimes or sex offenses can still serve as jurors in civil cases.
  • The amendment text does not provide details on how the new rules will be enforced or what happens if a disqualified person tries to serve on a jury.
  • It is unclear from this amendment alone whether there are any exceptions to these prohibitions for certain types of cases.
Draft

Plain English: The amendment changes the rules for who can be a juror in criminal and civil cases by adding restrictions on certain types of convicted people.

  • Adds that people convicted of violent crimes or sex offenses cannot serve as jurors in criminal trials.
  • Clarifies that these same restrictions do not apply to jurors in civil cases.
  • The amendment text does not provide details on how the new rules will be enforced or what happens if a restricted person is selected for jury duty.

Bill History

  1. 2026-05-29 H

    Effective date: 08/01/2026.

  2. 2026-05-29 H

    Signed by the Governor. Becomes Act No. 419.

  3. 2026-05-25 H

    Enrolled and signed by the Speaker of the House.

  4. 2026-05-22 H

    Sent to the Governor for executive approval.

  5. 2026-05-21 S

    Signed by the President of the Senate.

  6. 2026-05-20 H

    Read by title, roll called, yeas 76, nays 17, Senate amendments concurred in.

  7. 2026-05-19 H

    Scheduled for concurrence on 05/20/2026.

  8. 2026-05-18 H

    Received from the Senate with amendments.

  9. 2026-05-13 S

    Rules suspended. Senate floor amendments read and adopted. Read by title, passed by a vote of 25 yeas and 7 nays, and ordered returned to the House. Motion to reconsider tabled.

  10. 2026-05-07 S

    Reported with Legislative Bureau amendments which were read and adopted. Read by title and passed to third reading and final passage.

  11. 2026-05-06 S

    Committee amendments read and adopted. Read by title and referred to the Legislative Bureau.

  12. 2026-05-05 S

    Rules suspended. Reported with amendments.

  13. 2026-04-14 S

    Read second time by title and referred to the Committee on Judiciary C.

  14. 2026-04-13 S

    Received in the Senate. Read first time by title and placed on the Calendar for a second reading.

  15. 2026-04-09 H

    Read third time by title, roll called on final passage, yeas 68, nays 32. Finally passed, title adopted, ordered to the Senate.

  16. 2026-04-08 H

    Scheduled for floor debate on 04/09/2026.

  17. 2026-04-07 H

    Read by title, ordered engrossed, passed to 3rd reading.

  18. 2026-04-01 H

    Reported favorably (8-3).

  19. 2026-03-09 H

    Read by title, under the rules, referred to the Committee on Administration of Criminal Justice.

  20. 2026-02-13 H

    First appeared in the Interim Calendar on 2/13/2026.

  21. 2026-02-09 H

    Under the rules, provisionally referred to the Committee on Administration of Criminal Justice.

  22. 2026-02-09 H

    Prefiled.

Official Summary Text

CRIMINAL/JURY TRIALS: Provides relative to juror qualifications

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
ENROLLED
ACT No. 4192026 Regular Session
HOUSE BILL NO. 108
BY REPRESENTATIVE COX
1 AN ACT
2 To amend and reenact R.S. 13:3041(B) and to enact Code of Criminal Procedure Article
3 401(A)(6), relative to juror qualifications; to prohibit persons convicted of crimes of
4 violence or sex offenses from serving as jurors in criminal cases; and to provide for
5 related matters.
6 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
7 Section 1. R.S. 13:3041(B) is hereby amended and reenacted to read as follows:
8 §3041. Qualifications of juror in civil cases
9 * * *
10 B. The qualifications of a juror in any civil case are as required by Article
11 401 of the Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure, except that the prohibition against
12 persons convicted of a crime of violence or a sex offense shall not apply to civil
13 jurors.
14 * * *
15 Section 2. Code of Criminal Procedure Article 401(A)(6) is hereby enacted to read
16 as follows:
17 Art. 401. General qualifications of jurors
18 A. In order to qualify to serve as a juror, a person shall meet all of the
19 following requirements:
20 * * *
Page 1 of 2
CODING: Words in struck through type are deletions from existing law; words underscored
are additions.
HB NO. 108 ENROLLED
1 (6) Not have been convicted at any time of a felony crime of violence as
2 defined in R.S. 14:2(B) or a felony sex offense as defined in R.S. 15:541(24).
3 * * *
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF LOUISIANA
APPROVED:
Page 2 of 2
CODING: Words in struck through type are deletions from existing law; words underscored
are additions.