Creates new excuse from jury service; directs AOC to create and maintain list of persons excused from jury duty due to developmental disability.

A103

ASSEMBLY, No. 103

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman AL BARLAS

District 40 (Bergen, Essex and Passaic)

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman Flynn and Assemblyman Scharfenberger

SYNOPSIS

���� Creates new excuse from jury service; directs AOC to
create and maintain list of persons excused from jury duty due to developmental
disability.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative
Counsel.

��

An Act
concerning excuses from jury duty and amending
2B:20-10, and supplementing Title 2B of the New Jersey Statutes.

����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:

���� 1.��� N.J.S.2B:20-10 is
amended to read as follows:

���� 2B:20-10.� An excuse from jury
service shall be granted only if:

���� a.���� The prospective juror
is 75 years of age or older;

���� b.��� The prospective juror
has served as a juror within the last three years in the county to which the
juror is being summoned;

���� c.���� Jury service will
impose a severe hardship due to circumstances which are not likely to change
within the following year.� Severe hardship includes the following
circumstances:

���� (1)�� The prospective juror
has a medical inability to serve which is verified by a licensed physician.

���� (2)�� The prospective juror
will suffer a severe financial hardship which will compromise the juror's
ability to support himself, herself, or dependents.� In determining whether to
excuse the prospective juror, the Assignment Judge shall consider:�

���� (a)�� the sources of the
prospective juror's household income; and

���� (b)�� the availability and
extent of income reimbursement; and

���� (c)�� the expected length of
service.

���� (3)�� The prospective juror
has a personal obligation to care for another, including a dependent who is
sick, is elderly, or has an infirmity or a minor child, who requires the
prospective juror's personal care and attention, and no alternative care is
available without severe financial hardship on the prospective juror or the
person requiring care.�

���� (4)�� The prospective juror
provides highly specialized technical health care services for which
replacement cannot reasonably be obtained.

���� (5)�� The prospective juror is
a health care worker directly involved in the care of a person with a mental or
physical disability, and the prospective juror's continued presence is
essential to the personal treatment of that person.

���� (6)�� The prospective juror is
a member of the full-time instructional staff of a grammar school or high
school, the scheduled jury service is during the school term, and a replacement
cannot reasonably be obtained.� In determining whether to excuse the prospective
juror or grant a deferral of service, the Assignment Judge shall consider:

���� (a)�� the impact on the school
considering the number and function of teachers called for jury service during
the current academic year; and

���� (b)�� the special role of
certified special education teachers in providing continuity of instruction to
students with disabilities;

���� d.��� The prospective juror is
a member of a volunteer fire department or fire patrol;
[
or
]

���� e.���� The prospective juror
is a volunteer member of a first aid or rescue squad
; or

����
f.���� The prospective
juror meets eligibility for and is placed on the exemption list maintained by
the Administrative Office of the Courts pursuant to section 2 of P.L.�� , c.��
(C.��� )(pending before the Legislature as this bill)
.

(cf: P.L.2017, c.131, s.3)

���� 2.� (New section)�� a.� As
used in this section:

���� �Developmental disability�
means a severe, chronic disability of a person which:

���� (1)�� is attributable to a
mental or physical impairment or combination of mental or physical impairments;

���� (2)�� manifests before age 22;

���� (3)�� is likely to continue
indefinitely;

���� (4)�� results in substantial
function limitations in three or more of the following areas of major life
activity, that is, self-care, receptive and expressive language, learning,
mobility, self-direction and capacity for independent living or economic
self-sufficiency; and

���� (5)�� reflects the need for a
combination and sequence of special inter-disciplinary or generic care,
treatment, or other services which are of lifelong or extended duration and are
individually planned and coordinated.�

���� Developmental disability
includes, but is not limited to, severe disabilities attributable to an
intellectual disability, autism, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, spina bifada, and
other neurological impairments where the previous criteria are met.

���� �Office� means the
Administrative Office of the Courts.�

���� b.��� The Administrative
Office of the Courts shall develop and maintain a list and eligibility
guidelines for persons to be indefinitely excused from jury service due to a
developmental disability.� The office shall develop and publish on its Internet
website a form for persons seeking to be excused from jury service pursuant to
this section to complete as part of the information gathering process.

���� c.���� Any person seeking to
be excused from jury service pursuant to this section shall submit:

���� (1)�� information, verified by
a physician, indicating that the person has a developmental disability;

���� (2)�� information required by
the form developed by the office; and

���� (3)�� any other information
deemed necessary by the office to make a proper determination.

���� d.��� Once the office makes a
determination on eligibility of a person to be indefinitely excused from jury
service, the office shall notify the person and, if eligible, subsequently add
the person to a list maintained by the office of individuals who are indefinitely
excused.

���� e.���� Any person on the
office�s list of individuals indefinitely excused shall be excused from jury
service pursuant to N.J.S.2B:20-10.

���� 3. �This act shall take effect
immediately.

STATEMENT

���� This bill requires the
Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) to create a list of individuals who
are indefinitely excused from jury duty due to a developmental disability.

���� The AOC is required to develop
and maintain a list and eligibility guidelines for persons to be indefinitely
excused from jury service due to a developmental disability.� Developmental
disability is defined in the bill as a severe, chronic disability of a person
which:

���� (1)�� is attributable to a
mental or physical impairment or combination of mental or physical impairments;

���� (2)�� manifests before age 22;

���� (3)�� is likely to continue
indefinitely;

���� (4)�� results in substantial
function limitations in three or more of the following areas of major life
activity, that is, self-care, receptive and expressive language, learning,
mobility, self-direction and capacity for independent living or economic
self-sufficiency; and

���� (5)�� reflects the need for a
combination and sequence of special inter-disciplinary or generic care,
treatment or other services which are of lifelong or extended duration and are
individually planned and coordinated.�

���� Developmental disability also
includes severe disabilities attributable to an intellectual disability,
autism, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, spina bifada, and other neurological
impairments where the criteria are met.

���� The AOC is required to develop
and publish on its internet website a form for persons seeking to be excused
from jury service due to a developmental disability to complete as part of the
information gathering process.� A person seeking to be excused from jury
service is required to submit: (1) information, verified by a doctor of the
person, indicating that the person meets the eligibility requirements; (2)
information required by the form developed by the AOC; and (3) any other
information deemed necessary by the AOC to make a proper determination.

���� Currently, a person with a
developmental disability, such as autism, is not automatically excused from
jury duty.� To be excused from jury duty, a person would need to meet a
requirement of N.J.S.A.2B:20-10, which does not include excusal for developmental
disability.� Under the bill a person with a developmental disability may
voluntarily be added to a list of persons who are automatically excused.