S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
8182
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
I N A S S E M B L Y
October 27, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. SANTABARBARA -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Judiciary
AN ACT to amend the judiciary law, in relation to excusing prospective
jurors from jury service if they are a full-time caregiver responsible
for the care of a person with a mental or physical condition that
causes such person to be incapable of caring for himself or herself
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Subdivision (a) of section 517 of the judiciary law, as
amended by chapter 86 of the laws of 1995, paragraphs 1 and 2 as amended
by chapter 380 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read as follows:
(a) (1) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph two OR THREE of this
subdivision, the commissioner of jurors may, in his or her discretion,
on the application of a prospective juror who has been summoned to
attend, excuse such prospective juror from a part or the whole of the
time of jury service or may postpone the time of jury service to a later
day during the same or any subsequent term of the court, provided that
if the prospective juror is a breastfeeding mother and submits with her
application a note from a physician indicating that the prospective
juror is breastfeeding, the commissioner shall excuse the prospective
juror or postpone the time of jury service. The application shall be
presented to the commissioner at such time and in such manner as he or
she shall require, except that an application for postponement of the
initial date for jury service may be made by telephone.
(2) An application for postponement of jury service shall be granted
hereunder provided: (i) such service has not already been postponed or
excused, (ii) the application is made at such time and in such manner as
the commissioner of jurors requires, and (iii) the postponement is to a
date certain when the court is in session not more than six months after
the date on which such service otherwise is to commence and such date is
selected by the prospective juror, provided that if the prospective
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD07487-02-3
A. 8182 2
juror is a breastfeeding mother, the postponement date may be a date
certain up to two years after the date on which such service otherwise
is to commence.
(3) AN APPLICATION TO BE EXCUSED FROM JURY SERVICE SHALL BE GRANTED IF
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR PROVIDES A WRITTEN STATEMENT UNDER PENALTY OF
PERJURY, IN A FORM AND MANNER AS THE COMMISSIONER OF JURORS SHALL
REQUIRE, THAT SUCH PROSPECTIVE JUROR IS A FULL-TIME CAREGIVER RESPONSI-
BLE FOR THE CARE OF A PERSON WITH A MENTAL OR PHYSICAL CONDITION THAT
CAUSES SUCH PERSON TO BE INCAPABLE OF CARING FOR HIMSELF OR HERSELF.
§ 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
have become a law.