Current Status Bill Number:1038 Type of Legislation:General Bill GB Introducing Body:Senate Introduced Date:19980217 Primary Sponsor:Ravenel All Sponsors:Ravenel, Branton, Grooms, Ryberg, McConnell, Giese and Passailaigue Drafted Document Number:pt\1709sd.98 Companion Bill Number:4456 Residing Body:Senate Current Committee:Judiciary Committee 11 SJ Subject:Grand juries, service as juror; alternate method for selecting and impaneling; Juries and Jurors, Courts
Body Date Action Description Com Leg Involved
______ ________ _______________________________________ _______ ____________
Senate 19980217 Introduced, read first time, 11 SJ
referred to Committee
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TO AMEND SECTION 14-7-1510, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO SERVICE AS A GRAND JUROR, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT A PERSON COMPLETING HIS SERVICE AS A GRAND JUROR, INCLUDING ANY SERVICE AS A HOLDOVER GRAND JUROR, IS EXEMPT FROM ANY FURTHER JURY SERVICE IN ANY COURT IN THIS STATE FOR A PERIOD OF THREE YEARS; AND TO AMEND CHAPTER 7 OF TITLE 14, RELATING TO JURIES AND JURORS IN CIRCUIT COURT, BY ADDING ARTICLE 16 SO AS TO PROVIDE AN ALTERNATIVE METHOD FOR SELECTING AND IMPANELING GRAND JURIES IN WHICH GRAND JURORS SHALL SERVE TERMS OF SIX MONTHS RATHER THAN ONE YEAR AND MAY HOLD OVER FOR ONE ADDITIONAL SIX-MONTH TERM, TO PROVIDE THE PROCEDURES FOR SELECTING AND IMPANELING SUCH JURORS UNDER THIS ALTERNATIVE SYSTEM, AND TO PROVIDE THAT A PERSON COMPLETING HIS SERVICE AS A GRAND JUROR UNDER THIS ALTERNATIVE SYSTEM, INCLUDING ANY SERVICE AS A HOLDOVER GRAND JUROR, IS EXEMPT FROM ANY FURTHER JURY SERVICE IN ANY COURT OF THIS STATE FOR A PERIOD OF THREE YEARS.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Section 14-7-1510 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 14-7-1510. During the last term of the court of general sessions held in each county for any year six of the grand jurors then in service must be drawn as provided in this article who, together with twelve grand jurors selected in the manner prescribed, shall constitute the grand jury for the succeeding year. No person shall serve as a grand juror for more than two consecutive years. A person completing his service as a grand juror under the provisions of this article, including any service as a holdover grand juror, is exempt from any further jury service in any court in this State for a period of three years."
SECTION 2. Chapter 7 of Title 14 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
Section 14-7-1900. Grand jurors shall serve terms of six months and may be held over for one additional six-month term. During the last term of the court of general sessions held in each county before December thirty-first of each year, six of the grand jurors then in service who have not served two consecutive six-month terms must be drawn as provided in this article who, together with twelve new grand jurors selected in the manner prescribed, shall constitute the grand jury for the six-month period beginning on January first of the succeeding year and ending on June thirtieth of that year. During the last term of the court of general sessions held in each county before July first of each year, six of the grand jurors then in service who have not served two consecutive six-month terms must be drawn as provided in this article, who, together with twelve new grand jurors selected in the manner prescribed, shall constitute the grand jury for the ensuing period beginning on July first and ending on December thirty-first of that year. No person shall serve as a grand juror for more than two consecutive six-month terms.
Section 14-7-1910. The clerk of court of general sessions in each county, not less than fifteen days before the commencement of the first term of the court on or after January first and July first of each year, shall issue writs of venire facias for thirty grand jurors to be returned to the court, of whom twelve must be qualified and selected to serve together with the six grand jurors for whose selection provision has herein otherwise been made at each term thereof throughout the six-month period they are to serve and until another grand jury is selected and impaneled.
Section 14-7-1920. During the last term of the court of common pleas and general sessions for any county before December thirty-first of any year and July first of the succeeding year, the clerk of the court shall randomly draw from the outgoing grand jury, that is to say, from the grand jury for the then current six-month period, the names of the six members who have not served two consecutive six-month terms and who shall serve as a part of the grand jury for the then ensuing six-month period, with the same force and effect as if the names of the six grand jurors had been drawn in the presence of the presiding judge.
Section 14-7-1930. Whenever for any cause, such as the quashing of the array or there being no court at that term, there has been a failure to draw the names of six members of the grand jury for any county to serve on the grand jury for the county for the ensuing six-month period as required by law, there must be drawn, at the proper time for drawing the grand jury, thirty-six names from the jury box, instead of thirty, and the thirty-six persons whose names are drawn must be summoned and the grand jury must be selected as provided by law from among those thirty-six persons, which grand jury is the lawful grand jury for that county for that six-month period and until their successors be drawn, summoned, and qualified according to law.
Section 14-7-1940. Not less than fifteen days before the convening of the first term of the court of general sessions on or after January first and July first of each year, the jury commissioners shall proceed to draw from the jury box fifty grand jurors. The grand jurors must be randomly drawn and listed as are jurors for trials, and the jury commissioners shall not disqualify or excuse any juror drawn. Immediately after these grand jurors are drawn, the clerk of the court of common pleas shall issue his writ of venire facias for these grand jurors, requiring their attendance on the first day of the first week of criminal court in the county on or after January first and July first of each year or at such other time as the clerk of court may designate. This writ of venire facias must be delivered immediately to the sheriff of the county or otherwise served as provided by law.
Section 14-7-1950. On the first day of the term of court on or after January first and July first of each year, the presiding judge shall ascertain the qualifications of those jurors as have appeared pursuant to the writ of venire facias. No juror may be excused or disqualified except in accordance with existing law as determined by the presiding judge. The clerk of court shall maintain a list of all jurors who are excused or disqualified by the presiding judge and state the reasons given therefor by the presiding judge. The sheriff of the county shall also report to the presiding judge the names of those persons who were not served with writs of venire facias and that reasonable effort was made to obtain service. The clerk of court shall maintain a list of the jurors who were not served with the writ of venire facias and the reasons service was not effected.
Section 14-7-1960. After the grand jury venire has been duly qualified by the presiding judge, the clerk of court shall place the names of all qualified grand jurors in a container from which twelve grand jurors must be chosen. The clerk of court shall randomly draw twelve jurors from the container, and those twelve jurors drawn shall serve as grand jurors, together with those grand jurors selected as provided under Section 14-7-1900. The clerk of court shall randomly withdraw three additional jurors, with those three jurors serving as alternate grand jurors in the event one or more of the original grand jurors are incapacitated, excused, or disqualified during their term. The names of the alternate grand jurors must be kept separate and numbered in the order drawn and in this order, unless excused by the presiding judge, shall serve when necessary. The remainder of the grand jury venire may be discharged.
Section 14-7-1970. Except for the alternative method of selecting and impaneling grand jurors as provided in this article, all other provisions of law relating to grand juries and grand jurors shall continue to apply.
Section 14-7-1980. A county governing body, by ordinance, may elect to use the provisions of this article as the method of selecting and impaneling grand juries and grand jurors in that county based on its determination that grand jury case loads, length of time persons must serve as grand jurors, and other similar concerns require this alternative method.
Section 14-7-1990. Any person upon completion of service as a grand juror under the alternative method provided by this article, including any service as a holdover grand juror, is exempt from any further jury service in any court of this State for a period of three years."
SECTION 3. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.