Permits physician assistant or advanced practice nurse to verify excusal from jury service due to medical inability to serve.

S4303

SENATE, No. 4303

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED MAY 18, 2026

Sponsored by:

Senator� PAUL D. MORIARTY

District 4 (Atlantic, Camden and Gloucester)

SYNOPSIS

���� Permits physician assistant or advanced practice
nurse to verify excusal from jury service due to medical inability to serve.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act
concerning excusal from jury service and amending
N.J.S.2B:20-10.

����
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
,
physician assistant, or advanced practice nurse licensed or certified pursuant
to Title 45 of the Revised Statutes
.

���� (2)�� The prospective juror
will suffer a severe financial hardship which will compromise the juror's
ability to support
[
himself,
herself,
]

themselves
or
the juror�s
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)�� 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; or

���� (b)�� a child who is one year
of age or younger where the prospective juror is the child's mother and is
nursing or expressing milk for the child.

���� (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.

(cf: P.L.2025, c.43, s.1)

���� 2. This act shall take effect
immediately and apply to prospective jurors summoned for jury service on or
after the effective date.

STATEMENT

���� This bill permits a physician
assistant or advanced practice nurse to verify a prospective juror�s excusal
from jury service due to a medical inability to serve.

���� Under the bill, a physician
assistant or advanced practice nurse must be licensed or certified pursuant to
Title 45 of the Revised Statutes in order to provide the verification.

���� Under current law, only a
licensed physician may verify a prospective juror�s excusal from jury service
due to a medical inability to serve. �

���� The bill would take effect
immediately and apply to jurors summoned on or after the effective date.