Bill > H2142

This bill, titled "Relative to the examination of jurors," proposes changes to existing law regarding how potential jurors are questioned before a trial. Specifically, it amends Section 28 of Chapter 234 of the General Laws to allow parties or their attorneys, upon request and under the court's supervision, to conduct oral examinations of the jury venire, which is the group of people summoned for jury duty. This is in addition to any questioning done by the judge. The court can set reasonable limits on the questions and grant extra time if needed. In criminal cases with multiple defendants, the prosecution (referred to as the Commonwealth) will receive the same amount of questioning time as all the defendants combined. Importantly, this bill does not affect the number of peremptory challenges, which are a limited number of times a party can reject a potential juror without stating a reason.