Petri Bill to Re-Assign Duties of Jury Commissioners Passes Committee
HARRISBURG – By a unanimous vote, the House Judiciary Committee today advanced legislation by Rep. Scott Petri (R-Bucks) that would close a loophole in state law that could be exploited by criminal defendants as a means to escape prosecution.
“Act 4 of 2013, which permits counties to abolish of the office of jury commissioner, still assigns certain responsibilities to this office, even though it no longer exists or will soon be eliminated,” said Petri. “Those responsibilities include the duty of compiling the overall jury lists from which juries are formed for trials.
“Without someone to assume the responsibilities typically handled by the office of jury commissioner, it leaves the door open to claims by defendants that their civil rights are being violated because a jury was formed without strict adherence to the law,” Petri said. “
House Bill 1716 would assign the jury commissioners’ responsibilities to the president judge in counties where the office has been eliminated. Without this provision, someone who is convicted by jury could get a second bite at the apple.”
The bill now goes to the full House for consideration.
Representative Scott Petri
178th District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Donna Pinkham
717.260.6452
dpinkham@pahousegop.com
RepPetri.com