NY State Senate Bill 2009-S2619

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Codes Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Date of Action	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 06, 2010	referred to codes
Feb 25, 2009	referred to codes

2009-S2619 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Codes
Law Section:: Civil Practice Law and Rules
Laws Affected:: Amd §4106, add §4107-a, CPLR; amd §212, Judy L

2009-S2619 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Relates to the juror selection process; provides procedures for questioning, challenging and selecting jurors in civil cases.

2009-S2619 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S2619

 TITLE OF BILL :
An act to amend the civil practice law and rules and the judiciary
law, in relation to jury selection


 PURPOSE :
To clarify that the manner of juror selection in civil cases in the
Supreme and County Courts shall be conducted in the manner provided by
the rules of the Chief Administrator of the Courts; to require the
Chief Administrator to designate one or more Supervising Judges for
Voir Dire for each Judicial District with authority to immediately
review orders or determinations in relation to the conduct of jury
selection in an action originating in the Supreme court or County
court; and to provide a limited right of further review to redress
deliberate failure to apply a jury selection method promulgated
pursuant to this act.

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :
Section 1 would amend section 4106 of the Civil Practice Law and Rules
(CPLR) to authorize rather than require discharge of alternate jurors
after final submission of the case.

Section 2 would add a new CPLR section 4107-a to clarify that the
Rules of the Chief Administrator shall govern the procedures for the

conduct of voir dire in civil actions in the Supreme and County
Courts.

Section 3 would add a new paragraph (r) to section 212(2) of the
Judiciary Law as follows:

1) The Chief Administrator shall designate one or more Supervising
Judges for Voir Dire in each Judicial District statewide. Such
Supervising Judges shall have the initial authority to review orders
or determinations by justices, judges and judicial hearing officers in
relation to the conduct of jury selection in civil actions originating
in Supreme or County Court.

2) Any party aggrieved by an order or determination by the trial court
in relation to voir dire may request immediate review by a Supervising
Judge for the Judicial District in which such action arises. Such a
Supervising Judge may vacate or modify an order or determination in
relation to the conduct of jury selection pursuant to CPLR Article 41
and rules promulgated thereunder by the Chief Administrator. The
Supervising Judge shall conduct such review in such form as he or she
may determine, including telephone conference, except that there shall
not be any ex parte consideration. A record, including a recording of
the telephone conference, of such review shall be made at the request
of any party. Any resulting order of the Supervising Judge shall be
reduced to writing.

3) No judicial proceeding shall be delayed or continued except
suspension of voir dire as minimally necessary to allow review of an
order or determination in relation to questioning of an individual
juror, in which event questioning of such juror shall not continue
until the Supervising Judge shall review such order or determination.

4) There shall be no further judicial review of the trial court order
or determination during the pendency of the voir dire proceeding
before the trial court. This measure would not authorize the
Supervising Judge to review any other trial court order or
determination.

5) A special proceeding in the appropriate Appellate Division shall
lie pursuant to CPLR article 78 to challenge a deliberate failure to
apply a method of selection authorized pursuant to CPLR section 4107
-a, as added by this act, only where the Supervising Judge for voir
dire fails, after review pursuant to this paragraph, to remedy such
deliberate failure.

 EXISTING LAW :
CPLR Article 41 prescribes that a jury in a civil cause of action in
Supreme or County Court be comprised of six persons who are approved
as indifferent to the parties and not discharged or excused. The
Uniform Rules for Trial Court, as promulgated by the Chief
Administrator, governs the conduct and method of voir dire, that is,
the questioning, challenging and selection of jurors in civil cases.
Currently, there exists no procedure for an aggrieved party to get
immediate review of an order or determination in relation to the
conduct of jury selection in a civil action.

 JUSTIFICATION :
This bill would clarify that voir dire procedures statewide in civil
causes of action in the Supreme or County Courts shall be conducted as
set forth in CPLR Article 41 and as set forth in the rules promulgated
thereunder by the Chief Administrator. The failure by the trial judge
or judicial hearing officer to adhere to the frame- work established
by the statute or the rules would give rise to a new right of review
by the newly appointed Supervising Judge for Voir Dire for the
Judicial District in which the action arises. To promote compliance
with such rules, where the trial court and Supervising Judge both
deliberately refuse to apply a method of jury selection authorized
under such rules, such willful refusal could be challenged by special
proceeding in the appropriate Appellate Division.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :
2008-S.8661/A.11715 - Vetoed

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :
None.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
January 1st next succeeding the date upon which it shall have become
law and apply to all actions filed on or after such effective date and
to actions pending on such effective date provided no note of issue
has yet been filed therein.

2009-S2619 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  2619

                       2009-2010 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                            February 25, 2009
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sen.  DeFRANCISCO -- read twice and ordered printed, and
  when printed to be committed to the Committee on Codes

AN ACT to amend the civil practice law and rules and the judiciary  law,
  in relation to jury selection

  THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1. Section 4106 of  the  civil  practice  law  and  rules,  as
amended  by  chapter  336  of  the  laws  of 1972, is amended to read as
follows:
  S 4106. Alternate jurors. Unless the court, in its discretion,  orders
otherwise,  one  or  two  additional  jurors,  to be known as "alternate
jurors", may be drawn upon the request of a party. Such jurors shall  be
drawn  at  the  same time, from the same source, in the same manner, and
have the same qualifications as the regular jurors, and  be  subject  to
the  same  examinations  and challenges. They shall be seated with, take
the oath with, and be treated in the same manner as the regular  jurors,
except  that  after final submission of the case, the court [shall] MAY,
UPON CONSENT OF ALL PARTIES, discharge the alternate jurors. If,  before
the  final submission of the case, a regular juror dies, or becomes ill,
or for any other reason is unable to perform his OR HER duty, the  court
may order him OR HER to be discharged and draw the name of an alternate,
who  shall  replace the discharged juror in the jury box, and be treated
as if he OR SHE had been selected as one of the regular jurors.
  S 2. The civil practice law and rules are  amended  by  adding  a  new
section 4107-a to read as follows:
  S 4107-A. PROCEDURES FOR QUESTIONING, CHALLENGING AND SELECTING JURORS
IN  CIVIL  CASES. JURY SELECTION IN CASES TRIABLE BY A JURY AS SET FORTH
IN THIS ARTICLE SHALL BE CONDUCTED IN SUCH MANNER AS SHALL  BE  PROVIDED
BY THE RULES OF THE CHIEF ADMINISTRATOR OF THE COURTS.
  S  3.  Subdivision 2 of section 212 of the judiciary law is amended by
adding a new paragraph (r) to read as follows:

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD09665-01-9

S. 2619                             2

  (R) (I) THE CHIEF ADMINISTRATOR OF THE COURTS SHALL DESIGNATE  ONE  OR
MORE SUPERVISING JUDGES FOR VOIR DIRE FOR EACH JUDICIAL DISTRICT. SUCH A
SUPERVISING  JUDGE  SHALL  HAVE AUTHORITY, IN ACCORDANCE WITH THIS PARA-
GRAPH, TO REVIEW AND TO VACATE OR MODIFY AN ORDER OR DETERMINATION BY  A
JUSTICE, JUDGE OR JUDICIAL HEARING OFFICER IN RELATION TO THE CONDUCT OF
JURY  SELECTION  IN  A  CIVIL ACTION ORIGINATING IN THE SUPREME COURT OR
COUNTY COURT WHERE SUCH ORDER OR DETERMINATION CONSTITUTES A FAILURE  TO
COMPLY  WITH  THE PROVISIONS OF SECTION FORTY-ONE HUNDRED SEVEN-A OF THE
CIVIL PRACTICE LAW AND RULES OR THE RULES PROMULGATED  THEREUNDER  AFTER
THE  PROVISIONS OF SUCH SECTION OR SUCH RULES WERE BROUGHT TO THE ATTEN-
TION OF SUCH JUDGE OR JUDICIAL HEARING OFFICER; PROVIDED, HOWEVER,  THAT
NOTHING  IN  THIS  PARAGRAPH  SHALL  AFFECT  THE  RIGHTS OF ANY PARTY ON
APPEAL.
  (II) ANY PARTY AGGRIEVED BY AN ORDER OR  DETERMINATION  BY  THE  TRIAL
COURT PERTAINING TO THE CONDUCT OF JURY SELECTION MAY REQUEST AN IMMEDI-
ATE REVIEW UNDER THIS PARAGRAPH. A SUPERVISING JUDGE FOR VOIR DIRE SHALL
CONSIDER  SUCH  REQUEST  FOR  REVIEW IN SUCH MANNER, INCLUDING TELEPHONE
CONFERENCE, AS HE OR SHE MAY DETERMINE, EXCEPT THAT  SUCH  REVIEW  SHALL
NOT  BE CONDUCTED EX PARTE. A RECORD, INCLUDING A RECORDING OF ANY TELE-
PHONE CONFERENCE, OF SUCH REVIEW SHALL BE MADE AT  THE  REQUEST  OF  ANY
PARTY. ANY ORDER UNDER THIS PARAGRAPH SHALL BE REDUCED TO WRITING.
  (III)  NO  JUDICIAL  PROCEEDING SHALL BE DELAYED OR CONTINUED TO ALLOW
FOR REVIEW HEREUNDER BY A SUPERVISING JUDGE  FOR  VOIR  DIRE,  PROVIDED,
HOWEVER, THAT IF THE REQUEST FOR REVIEW PERTAINS TO AN ORDER OR DETERMI-
NATION AS TO THE QUESTIONING OF AN INDIVIDUAL JUROR, THE VOIR DIRE SHALL
BE  SUSPENDED  AND THE SUPERVISING JUDGE FOR VOIR DIRE SHALL RULE ON THE
ORDER OR DETERMINATION BEFORE FURTHER QUESTIONING  RESUMES  AS  TO  THAT
PARTICULAR JUROR.
  (IV)  THIS PARAGRAPH SHALL AUTHORIZE REVIEW BY A SUPERVISING JUDGE FOR
VOIR DIRE ONLY OF A TRIAL COURT ORDER OR DETERMINATION RELATING TO  JURY
SELECTION  AS  SET  FORTH IN THIS PARAGRAPH AND SHALL NOT AUTHORIZE SUCH
REVIEW OF ANY OTHER ORDERS, DETERMINATIONS OR  DECISIONS  OF  THE  TRIAL
COURT.
  (V)  A  SPECIAL PROCEEDING IN THE APPROPRIATE APPELLATE DIVISION SHALL
LIE PURSUANT TO ARTICLE SEVENTY-EIGHT OF  THE  CIVIL  PRACTICE  LAW  AND
RULES  TO  CHALLENGE A DELIBERATE FAILURE TO APPLY A METHOD OF SELECTION
AUTHORIZED PURSUANT TO SECTION FORTY-ONE HUNDRED SEVEN-A  OF  THE  CIVIL
PRACTICE  LAW  AND  RULES ONLY WHERE THE SUPERVISING JUDGE FOR VOIR DIRE
FAILS TO REMEDY SUCH DELIBERATE FAILURE AFTER REVIEW  PURSUANT  TO  THIS
PARAGRAPH.
  S  4. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed-
ing the date upon which it shall have become a  law  and  apply  to  all
actions  filed on or after such effective date and to actions pending on
such effective date provided no note of issue has yet been filed  there-
in.

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Senate Bill S2619

Sponsored By

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Codes Committee

Actions

2009-S2619 (ACTIVE) - Details

2009-S2619 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2009-S2619 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2009-S2619 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

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Sponsored By

John A. DeFrancisco

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Codes Committee

Actions

2009-S2619 (ACTIVE) - Details

2009-S2619 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2009-S2619 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2009-S2619 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments