S 1002 Session 123 (2019-2020) S 1002 General Bill, By Rankin, Malloy, Young, McElveen, Kimpson, M.B.Matthews, Senn, Harpootlian, Sabb, Campsen, Hutto, Setzler, Hembree, Talley, Davis and Goldfinch A BILL TO AMEND SECTION 14-7-1050, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO JURY VOIR DIRE, SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR ATTORNEY CONDUCTED JURY VOIR DIRE BY ORAL AND DIRECT QUESTIONING; TO AMEND SECTION 14-7-1060, RELATING TO THE DRAWING OF A JURY PANEL, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT THE NUMBER OF JURORS TO BE DRAWN IS WITHIN THE DISCRETION OF THE TRIAL JUDGE; AND TO AMEND SECTION 14-7-1080, RELATING TO THE DRAWING OF A SECOND JURY PANEL, SO AS TO DELETE THE REQUIREMENT THAT THE PANEL MUST BE MADE UP OF TWENTY JURORS.
Indicates New Matter COMMITTEE REPORT March 4, 2020 S. 1002 Introduced by Senators Rankin, Malloy, Young, McElveen, Kimpson, M.B. Matthews, Senn, Harpootlian, Sabb, Campsen, Hutto, Setzler, Hembree, Talley, Davis and Goldfinch S. Printed 3/4/20--S. [SEC 3/5/20 3:22 PM] Read the first time January 14, 2020.
To whom was referred a Bill (S. 1002) to amend Section 14-7-1050, Code of Laws of South Carolina, 1976, relating to jury voir dire, so as to provide for attorney conducted jury voir, etc., respectfully
That they have duly and carefully considered the same and recommend that the same do pass with amendment: Amend the bill, as and if amended, starting on page 2, by striking lines 12 through 43 on page 2 and lines 1 through 14 on page 3, in Section 14-7-1050, as contained in SECTION 1, and inserting therein the following: / (C) Upon motion, by either party, to propose oral and direct voir dire questions to a jury panel, the parties shall prepare their proposed questions in writing and exchange the questions at least seven days before the selection of the trial jury. Any objections to the voir dire questions must be ruled upon by the trial judge who shall give final approval of the questions. Each party is allotted no more than thirty minutes to ask questions. If there is more than one plaintiff or one defendant with divergent interests between the plaintiff parties or defendant parties, the trial judge shall allocate an even amount of time between the parties to voir dire the jury panel. Upon motion, by either party, the thirty-minute time limit may be extended by the judge after consideration of the amount of time requested by the moving party, the length of the trial, the number of parties, the number of witnesses, the amount of damages in question, and any unique or complex legal or factual issues. (D) After swearing in of the jury venire, a list of jurors, the number of which will be determined by the trial judge, will be prepared to participate in voir dire. Attorneys for the plaintiff shall begin voir dire by asking their approved questions. Attorneys for the defendant will then proceed with their approved questions. Additional questions may be asked in a manner in which the trial judge deems proper and within the scope set forth by the trial judge. (E) A party may not ask the following questions without showing, to the satisfaction of the trial judge, that the question is relevant to the issue or would affect the juror's impartiality: (1) Questions about the juror's political views, voting patterns, or political party preferences; or (2) Questions about the juror's religious beliefs or religious affiliations; (F) The following questions are prohibited: (1) Questions that seek to commit a juror to a result, including, but not limited to, questions about what evidence would cause the juror to find for one party over the other party; (2) Questions that have no purpose other than to argue a party's case or to persuade the juror to find for one party over the other party; and (3) Questions about the outcome of previous trials on which the person served as a juror, including, but not limited to, the vote of the juror or the verdict of the jury. (G) After voir dire by all parties, the trial judge shall hear, outside of the presence of the jury, any challenges for cause as to any juror. (H) After any challenges for cause have been ruled upon, the parties shall exercise peremptory challenges for the jurors remaining on the list. The plaintiff shall proceed first with a peremptory challenge, followed by the defendant, and the plaintiff and defendant shall alternate challenges until all challenges have been exhausted. After the parties have used all of their peremptory challenges, the remaining jurors will be impaneled and sworn as the trial jury." / Renumber sections to conform. Amend title to conform. LUKE A. RANKIN for Committee.
Explanation of Fiscal Impact Introduced on January 14, 2020 State Expenditure This bill would change how a jury is selected in common pleas courts and in equity cases in the courts. Among other things, the parties must prepare and exchange proposed voir dire questions five days prior to selection. The bill also gives the judge the discretion to determine the number of jurors in the jury panel rather than prescribing the number of people to serve on the panel. Each party is required to ask its approved questions and must be given at least thirty minutes to do so, though the judge may extend the time limit under certain conditions. There currently is no minimum time that must be provided for the parties to ask the questions. The bill prohibits questions on matters such as political views and religious beliefs. Once all initial questions have been asked, the plaintiff will proceed with a peremptory challenge, followed by the defendant, and the two shall alternate challenges until all challenges have been exhausted. Remaining jurors will be impaneled and sworn as the trial jury. If passed, the bill will take effect on January 1, 2021. Judicial Department. The department indicates that implementation of the bill would lengthen the jury selection process since there are additional issues to consider, which would impact the common pleas court dockets. However, there is no data with which to predict the number of hearings that may be impacted nor the amount of extra time that may be required to conduct the hearings. The department expects to absorb any costs associated with lengthened case time using general funds. Frank A. Rainwater, Executive Director Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office
TO AMEND SECTION 14-7-1050, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO JURY VOIR DIRE, SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR ATTORNEY CONDUCTED JURY VOIR DIRE BY ORAL AND DIRECT QUESTIONING; TO AMEND SECTION 14-7-1060, RELATING TO THE DRAWING OF A JURY PANEL, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT THE NUMBER OF JURORS TO BE DRAWN IS WITHIN THE DISCRETION OF THE TRIAL JUDGE; AND TO AMEND SECTION 14-7-1080, RELATING TO THE DRAWING OF A SECOND JURY PANEL, SO AS TO DELETE THE REQUIREMENT THAT THE PANEL MUST BE MADE UP OF TWENTY JURORS. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina: SECTION 1. Section 14-7-1050 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 14-7-1050. (B)(1) The scope of the voir dire is within the limits set forth by the trial judge. (2) The purpose of the voir dire is to discover any inclinations, leanings, or bias which the jurors might have with regard to the circumstances of the case. (C) Upon motion, by either party, to propose oral and direct voir dire questions to a jury panel, the parties shall prepare their proposed questions in writing and exchange the questions at least five days before the selection of the trial jury. Any objections to the voir dire questions must be ruled upon by the trial judge who shall give final approval of the questions. Each party is allotted at least thirty minutes to ask questions. If there is more than one plaintiff or one defendant with divergent interests between the plaintiff parties or defendant parties, the trial judge shall allocate an even amount of time between the parties to voir dire the jury panel. Upon motion, by either party, the time limit may be extended by the judge after consideration of the amount of time requested by the moving party, the length of the trial, the number of parties, the number of witnesses, and any unique or complex legal or factual issues.
(D) After swearing in of the jury venire, a list of jurors, the number of which will be determined by the trial judge, will be prepared to participate in voir dire. Attorneys for the plaintiff shall begin voir dire by asking their approved (E) The following questions are prohibited: (1) Questions that seek to commit a juror to a result, including, but not limited to, questions about what evidence would cause the juror to find for one party over the other party; (2) Questions about the juror's political views, voting patterns, or political party preferences; (3) Questions about the juror's religious beliefs or religious affiliations; (4) Questions that have no purpose other than to argue a party's case or to persuade the juror to find for one party over the other party; and (5) Questions about the outcome of previous trials on which the person served as a juror, including, but not limited to, the vote of the juror or the verdict of the jury. (F) After voir dire by all parties, the trial judge shall hear, outside of the presence of the jury, any challenges for cause as to any juror. (G) After any challenges for cause have been ruled upon, the parties shall exercise peremptory challenges for the jurors remaining on the list. The plaintiff shall proceed first with a peremptory challenge, followed by the defendant, and the plaintiff and defendant shall alternate challenges until all challenges have been exhausted. After the parties have used all of their peremptory challenges, the remaining jurors will be impaneled and sworn as the trial jury." SECTION 2. Section 14-7-1060 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 14-7-1060. If a computer is not used for the drawing of jurors pursuant to the provisions of Section 14-7-140, the clerk shall write or cause the names of the jurors in attendance to be written, each on a separate paper or ballot which must be white and plain, which must resemble each other as much as possible, and which must be so folded that the name written thereon is not visible on the outside. The clerk shall place each of the ballots or separate papers in a separate, small opaque capsule or container, which must be as uniform in size, shape, and color as possible at the time of original purchase or repurchase of the capsules or containers. Whenever a jury panel SECTION 3. Section 14-7-1080 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 14-7-1080. Should the jury charged with any case be delayed in rendering its verdict so that it could not be present to be drawn from in making the list to form a second jury, then the clerk shall present to the parties or their attorneys a list containing the names of SECTION 4. This act takes effect January 1, 2021.
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