|
| | SB0977 Engrossed | | LRB098 05218 HEP 35250 b |
|
|
1 | | AN ACT concerning courts.
|
2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
|
3 | | represented in the General Assembly:
|
4 | | Section 5. The Jury Act is amended by changing Section 2 as |
5 | | follows:
|
6 | | (705 ILCS 305/2) (from Ch. 78, par. 2)
|
7 | | Sec. 2.
At the September meeting of the county board in |
8 | | each year in the
respective counties in this State, except |
9 | | those that have
jury
commissioners, the board shall select from |
10 | | the
list
the number of persons
as the judges of the circuit |
11 | | courts, to be held in the county
during the
succeeding year, |
12 | | may by joint action determine to serve as petit jurors. In
|
13 | | counties having jury commissioners, the persons to serve as |
14 | | petit jurors
shall be selected by the jury commissioners, as |
15 | | provided by law. County
boards, a jury administrator,
and jury
|
16 | | commissioners may utilize
the services of the
Administrative |
17 | | Office of the Illinois Courts in making these selections.
|
18 | | Jurors in all counties in Illinois must have the legal |
19 | | qualifications
herein prescribed. Jurors must be:
|
20 | | (1) Inhabitants of the county.
|
21 | | (2) Of the age of 18 years or upwards.
|
22 | | (3) Free from all legal exception, of fair character, of
|
23 | | approved
integrity, of sound judgment, well informed, and able |
|
| | SB0977 Engrossed | - 2 - | LRB098 05218 HEP 35250 b |
|
|
1 | | to understand
the English language, whether in spoken or |
2 | | written form , or interpreted into
sign language , or, in |
3 | | counties in which a pilot program is implemented in accordance |
4 | | with Section 8-1403 of the Code of Civil Procedure, interpreted |
5 | | or translated into the juror's predominant language .
|
6 | | (4) Citizens of the United States of America.
|
7 | | (Source: P.A. 90-482, eff. 1-1-98.)
|
8 | | Section 10. The Jury Secrecy Act is amended by changing |
9 | | Section 1 as follows:
|
10 | | (705 ILCS 315/1) (from Ch. 78, par. 36)
|
11 | | Sec. 1.
(a) Except as provided in subsection (b), whoever |
12 | | knowingly
and wilfully, by any device or means whatsoever
|
13 | | records or attempts to record, the proceedings of a petit jury |
14 | | in any court
of the State of Illinois while the jury is |
15 | | deliberating or voting,
or
listens to or observes, or attempts |
16 | | to listen to or observe, the
proceedings of any petit jury of |
17 | | which he is not a member in any court of
the State of Illinois |
18 | | while the jury is deliberating or voting,
shall be
guilty of a |
19 | | Class A misdemeanor.
However, if any juror is deaf or hard of |
20 | | hearing, the juror may be
accompanied by and may communicate |
21 | | with a court appointed interpreter
throughout any period during |
22 | | which the jury is sequestered or engaged in its
deliberations.
|
23 | | In counties in which a pilot program is implemented in |
24 | | accordance with Section 8-1403 of the Code of Civil Procedure, |
|
| | SB0977 Engrossed | - 3 - | LRB098 05218 HEP 35250 b |
|
|
1 | | if any juror's predominant language is not English, the juror |
2 | | may be
accompanied by an interpreter. In the case of a |
3 | | non-English speaking juror, the interpreter shall be available |
4 | | throughout the actual trial and may accompany and communicate |
5 | | with the juror throughout any period during which the jury is |
6 | | sequestered or engaged in its deliberations. If the jury |
7 | | foreman reasonably
believes that an the interpreter is doing |
8 | | more than interpreting, nothing in this
Act shall prevent him |
9 | | or her from petitioning the court and requesting that the
|
10 | | interpreter be replaced with another interpreter.
|
11 | | (b) A petit juror in any court of the State of Illinois
|
12 | | shall be entitled to take notes in
connection with and solely |
13 | | for the purpose of assisting him in the
performance of his |
14 | | duties as juror, and the sheriff of the county
in which such |
15 | | juror is serving shall provide writing materials for that
|
16 | | purpose. Such notes shall remain confidential, and shall be |
17 | | destroyed by
the sheriff after the verdict has been returned or |
18 | | a mistrial declared.
|
19 | | (Source: P.A. 88-27.)
|
20 | | Section 15. The Code of Civil Procedure is amended by |
21 | | adding Sections 8-1403 as follows: |
22 | | (735 ILCS 5/8-1403 new) |
23 | | Sec. 8-1403. Accommodation for jurors whose predominant |
24 | | language is not English. |
|
| | SB0977 Engrossed | - 4 - | LRB098 05218 HEP 35250 b |
|
|
1 | | (a) In the counties of Cook, Lake, DuPage, Kane, and Will, |
2 | | the court shall implement a pilot program to appoint a |
3 | | qualified interpreter to interpret or translate proceedings |
4 | | for a juror whose predominant language is not English. The |
5 | | interpreter shall be available throughout the trial and may |
6 | | accompany and communicate with the juror throughout any period |
7 | | during which the jury is sequestered or engaged in its |
8 | | deliberations. The court shall determine and allow a reasonable |
9 | | fee for all services provided under this Section which shall be |
10 | | paid out of general county funds. |
11 | | (b) The Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts shall |
12 | | record the following regarding the pilot program: the amount of |
13 | | funding that is expended; what languages are interpreted; and |
14 | | the extent to which interpreters are used in each county in |
15 | | which the pilot program operates. |
16 | | (c) Before a qualified interpreter participates in any |
17 | | proceedings authorized under this Section, the interpreter |
18 | | shall make an oath or affirmation that the interpreter will: |
19 | | (1) make a true interpretation from English to the |
20 | | juror's predominant language and from the juror's |
21 | | predominant language to English; |
22 | | (2) not interject the interpreter's own thoughts, |
23 | | beliefs, conclusions, or opinions regarding any |
24 | | interpretation of what the evidence shows, what the |
25 | | instructions mean, or how the evidence is analyzed as it |
26 | | relates to the instructions issued by the court; and |