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Public Act 094-0186
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| HB1095 Enrolled |
LRB094 06930 LCB 37045 b |
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AN ACT concerning juries.
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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represented in the General Assembly:
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Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Juror |
Protection Act.
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Section 5. Juror contact. A person who represents himself |
or herself during any phase of a jury trial and is subsequently |
found guilty of any charge must seek and obtain leave of the |
court prior to making any attempt to contact any member of the |
jury panel, regardless of the reason for inquiry.
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Section 10. Court petition; process. |
(a) The defendant shall file with the court where his or |
her case was heard a petition laying forth the reasons why |
juror contact is necessary or otherwise appropriate. |
(b) Upon receipt of the petition, the circuit clerk for the |
court shall forward a copy of the petition to the State's |
Attorney or other prosecuting attorney. Where a response to the |
petition is deemed warranted, the State's Attorney or other |
prosecuting attorney shall have 5 days to file a response. |
(c) The court shall, within 7 days of receipt of the |
petition and response, where one is filed, rule on the merits |
of the request. |
(d) The court may, but is not required to, hold a hearing |
on the merits of the petition. |
(e) If the petition is granted, the court shall, within 7 |
days of the ruling, arrange for the defendant to be transported |
to the courthouse to take part in the call. All phone calls |
shall be made by an officer of the court and shall be made |
between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., Monday through |
Friday. The court officer shall identify himself or herself to |
the recipient of the call, ask to speak to the juror in |
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question, identify the purpose for the call, and ask the juror |
if he or she is willing to speak to the defendant. If the juror |
consents, the defendant shall be allowed to speak to the juror |
under the supervision of the court officer. If the juror |
refuses, no further contact may be made by or on behalf of the |
defendant. If there is no answer at the provided phone number, |
the officer of the court shall leave a message outlining the |
above and requesting that the juror contact the court officer |
to indicate whether or not he or she will speak to the |
defendant.
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Section 15. Violation. Any attempt to contact a member of |
the jury panel following that member's refusal to speak as |
outlined in subsection (e) of Section 10 shall be deemed a |
violation of Section 32-4 of the Criminal Code of 1961.
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Section 300. The Criminal Code of 1961 is amended by |
changing Section 32-4 as follows:
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(720 ILCS 5/32-4) (from Ch. 38, par. 32-4)
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Sec. 32-4. Communicating with jurors and witnesses.
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(a) A person who, with intent to influence any person whom |
he believes
has been summoned as a juror, regarding any matter |
which is or may be
brought before such juror, communicates, |
directly or indirectly, with such
juror otherwise than as |
authorized by law commits a Class 4 felony.
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(b) A person who, with intent to deter any party or witness |
from
testifying freely, fully and truthfully to any matter |
pending in any court,
or before a Grand Jury, Administrative |
agency or any other State or local
governmental unit, forcibly |
detains such party or witness, or communicates,
directly or |
indirectly, to such party or witness any knowingly false
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information or a threat of injury or damage to the property or |
person of
any individual or offers or delivers or threatens to |
withhold money or
another thing of value to
any individual |
commits a
Class 3 felony.
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