New York State Bar Association Praises Legislature for Passing Bill Eliminating Lifetime Ban on Jury Service for Felons
6.13.2024
The New York State Bar Association is calling on Gov. Kathy Hochul to sign a bill that would allow New Yorkers with a felony conviction to serve on a jury. State Senate bill 206A/Assembly bill 1432A lifts the lifetime ban on jury service.
Once New Yorkers have served their sentences including probation or community supervision, they would be eligible to serve on a jury if the bill becomes law.
“A felony conviction is no longer a lifetime sentence when it comes to the rights of citizenship,” said New York State Bar Association President Domenick Napoletano. “We must believe in the power of reform and redemption for all of our citizens who have paid their debt to society. We encourage Gov. Kathy Hochul to sign this bill into law.”
Napoletano praised the bill’s sponsors, state Sen. Cordell Cleare and Assemblymember Jeffrion Aubry.
“Juries are essential to the functioning of a democracy and a fair criminal justice system. Research demonstrates that racially diverse juries ensure fairer outcomes but they are not the norm because people of color are underrepresented in the jury pool. This bill provides an opportunity for a jury to more accurately represent New York’s diverse communities,” Napoletano said.
Background
In 2022, the New York State Bar Association formed the Task Force on Racism, Social Equity, and the Law and its report was adopted by the New York State Bar Association in January of 2023. It concluded that “felony convictions should not act as a complete bar to serving on a jury.”
In New York State, approximately 33% of Black men are excluded from the jury pool because of the state’s felony exclusion law. This legislation repeals the exclusion.
