Bill > HB194

This bill revises Montana's laws related to jury selection, service, and notification processes. The bill modifies several key aspects of jury management: First, it removes the requirement for jurors to respond by mail to initial jury notices and eliminates the automatic sheriff involvement if someone fails to respond. Instead, the bill introduces a multi-step communication process where the court clerk will first send a notice, then attempt to contact non-responsive individuals by telephone or electronic communication, and only if those attempts fail, will the sheriff be asked to make reasonable efforts to contact the potential juror. The bill also clarifies jury service terms, allowing jurors to continue serving beyond one year if they are already impaneled in a specific trial, and introduces a "one-day or one-trial" jury service option where individuals can be excused after one day if not selected. Additionally, the bill expands the grounds for challenging a jury panel to include issues with notification and summoning, and specifies what constitutes "reasonable efforts" to contact potential jurors, such as publication in newspapers, social media, telephone contact, and postal communication. The changes are designed to modernize jury selection processes, provide more flexibility in jury service, and create clearer guidelines for jury panel challenges, with the new provisions set to apply to jury pools noticed on or after May 1, 2026.

Justice

https://bills.legmt.gov/#/laws/bill/2/LC0568