What This Bill Does
This bill changes federal law to stop courts from keeping people with disabilities off juries just because they have a disability. It requires courts to let people with disabilities serve on juries if they can do the job with reasonable accommodations (changes or adjustments made to help someone participate).
Who It Affects
People with disabilities who want to serve on federal juries, federal courts, and the people involved in cases heard by federal juries.
Key Provisions
• Courts cannot exclude someone from federal jury service because of disability or age. (Sec. 2(a))
• A person can only be disqualified from jury service for infirmity (physical weakness or illness) if that infirmity cannot be reasonably accommodated. (Sec. 2(b)(1))
• A person with a disability cannot be disqualified from serving on a grand jury or petit jury (regular trial jury) if they would qualify for service with reasonable accommodation. (Sec. 2(b)(2))
What Changes
Federal courts must now consider reasonable accommodations before disqualifying someone with a disability from jury service. Courts can no longer use disability alone as a reason to exclude someone from juries.
Important Definitions
Reasonable accommodation: Not defined in bill text
Effective Date
Not specified in bill text
II
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
S. 1086
To amend title 28, United States Code, to prohibit the exclusion of individuals
from service on a Federal jury on account of disability.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
MARCH 30, 2023
Mr. MARKEY (for himself, Mr. CASEY, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Ms.
DUCKWORTH, Ms. WARREN, Mr. PADILLA, Mr. WYDEN, Ms. SMITH, and
Ms. KLOBUCHAR) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
A BILL
To amend title 28, United States Code, to prohibit the exclu-
sion of individuals from service on a Federal jury on
account of disability.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
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tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
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This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Disability and Age in
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Jury Service Nondiscrimination Act’’.
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•S 1086 IS
SEC. 2. EXCLUSION FROM FEDERAL JURIES ON ACCOUNT
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OF DISABILITY.
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(a) DISCRIMINATION PROHIBITED.—Section 1862 of
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title 28, United States Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘dis-
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ability, age,’’ after ‘‘origin,’’.
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(b) QUALIFICATIONS FOR JURY SERVICE.—Section
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1865 of title 28, United States Code, is amended—
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(1) in subsection (b)(4), by inserting ‘‘that can-
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not be reasonably accommodated’’ after ‘‘infirmity’’;
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and
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(2) by adding at the end the following:
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‘‘(c) No person may be disqualified from serving on
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grand and petit juries in the district court under para-
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graph (2) or (3) of subsection (b) on account of disability
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if the person would be qualified under such paragraph (2)
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or (3) by reasonable accommodation.’’.
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Æ
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