A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the organization of a grand jury.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Article 19.01, Code of Criminal Procedure, is

amended to read as follows:

Art. 19.01. APPOINTMENT OF GRAND JURY [ COMMISSIONERS;

SELECTION WITHOUT JURY COMMISSION ]. [ (a) ] The [ district judge, at

or during any term of court, shall appoint not less than three, nor

more than five persons to perform the duties of jury commissioners,

and shall cause the sheriff to notify them of their appointment, and

when and where they are to appear. The district judge shall, in the

order appointing such commissioners, designate whether such

commissioners shall serve during the term at which selected or for

the next succeeding term. Such commissioners shall receive as

compensation for each day or part thereof they may serve the sum of

Ten Dollars, and they shall possess the following qualifications:

[ 1. Be intelligent citizens of the county and able to read

and write the English language;

[ 2. Be qualified jurors in the county;

[ 3. Have no suit in said court which requires intervention of

a jury;

[ 4. Be residents of different portions of the county; and

[ 5. The same person shall not act as jury commissioner more

than once in any 12-month period.

[ (b) In lieu of the selection of prospective jurors by means

of a jury commission, the ] district judge shall [ may ] direct that 20

to 125 prospective grand jurors be selected and summoned, with

return on summons, in the same manner as for the selection and

summons of panels for the trial of civil cases in the district

courts. The judge shall try the qualifications for and excuses from

service as a grand juror and impanel the completed grand jury [ in

the same manner ] as provided by this chapter [ for grand jurors

selected by a jury commission ].

SECTION 2. Article 19.07, Code of Criminal Procedure, is

amended to read as follows:

Art. 19.07. EXTENSION BEYOND TERM OF PERIOD FOR WHICH GRAND

JURORS SHALL SIT. If prior to the expiration of the term for which

the grand jury was impaneled, it is made to appear by a declaration

of the foreman or of a majority of the grand jurors in open court,

that the investigation by the grand jury of the matters before it

cannot be concluded before the expiration of the term, the judge of

the district court in which said grand jury was impaneled may, by

the entry of an order on the minutes of said court, extend, from

time to time, for the purpose of concluding the investigation of

matters then before it, the period during which said grand jury

shall sit, for not to exceed a total of ninety days after the

expiration of the term for which it was impaneled, and all

indictments pertaining thereto returned by the grand jury within

said extended period shall be as valid as if returned before the

expiration of the term. [ The extension of the term of a grand jury

under this article does not affect the provisions of Article 19.06

relating to the selection and summoning of grand jurors for each

regularly scheduled term. ]

SECTION 3. Article 19.08, Code of Criminal Procedure, is

amended to read as follows:

Art. 19.08. QUALIFICATIONS. No person shall be selected or

serve as a grand juror who does not possess the following

qualifications:

1. The person must be a citizen of the state, and of

the county in which the person is to serve, and be qualified under

the Constitution and laws to vote in said county, provided that the

person's failure to register to vote shall not be held to disqualify

the person in this instance;

2. The person must be of sound mind and good moral

character;

3. The person must be able to read and write;

4. The person must not have been convicted of

misdemeanor theft or a felony;

5. The person must not be under indictment or other

legal accusation for misdemeanor theft or a felony;

6. The person must not be related within the third

degree of consanguinity or second degree of affinity, as determined

under Chapter 573, Government Code, to any person selected to serve

or serving on the same grand jury;

7. The person must not have served as grand juror [ or

jury commissioner ] in the year before the date on which the term of

court for which the person has been selected as grand juror begins;

and

8. The person must not be a complainant in any matter

to be heard by the grand jury during the term of court for which the

person has been selected as a grand juror.

SECTION 4. Article 19.19, Code of Criminal Procedure, is

amended to read as follows:

Art. 19.19. JURORS TO ATTEND FORTHWITH. The jurors

provided for in Article 19.18 [ the two preceding Articles ] shall be

summoned in person to attend before the court forthwith.

SECTION 5. Article 19.20, Code of Criminal Procedure, is

amended to read as follows:

Art. 19.20. TO SUMMON QUALIFIED PERSONS. On [ Upon ]

directing the sheriff to summon grand jurors [ not selected by the

jury commissioners ], the court shall instruct the sheriff [ him ]

that the sheriff [ he ] must not summon any [ no ] person to serve as a

grand juror who does not possess the qualifications prescribed by

law.

SECTION 6. Article 19.30, Code of Criminal Procedure, is

amended to read as follows:

Art. 19.30. CHALLENGE TO "ARRAY". A challenge to the

"array" shall be made in writing for these causes only:

1. That those summoned as grand jurors are not in fact

those selected by the method provided by Article 19.01 [ 19.01(b) of

this chapter or by the jury commissioners ]; and

2. That [ In case of grand jurors summoned by order of

the court, that ] the officer who summoned the grand jurors [ them

had ] acted corruptly in summoning any one or more of them.

SECTION 7. Section 24.014(b), Government Code, is amended

to read as follows:

(b) The judge may impanel [ appoint jury commissioners who

select and draw ] grand and petit jurors as provided by law. The

jurors may be summoned to appear before the court at the time

designated by the judge.

SECTION 8. Section 24.135(c), Government Code, is amended

to read as follows:

(c) The judge of the 33rd District Court may [ select jury

commissioners and ] impanel grand juries in each county. The judge

of the 33rd District Court may alternate the drawing of grand juries

with the judge of any other district court in each county within the

33rd Judicial District and may order grand and petit juries to be

drawn for any term of the court as the judge determines is

necessary, by an order entered in the minutes of the

court. Indictments within each county may be returned to either

court within that county.

SECTION 9. Section 24.377(b), Government Code, is amended

to read as follows:

(b) The judge of the 198th District Court may [ select jury

commissioners and ] impanel grand juries in each county. The judge

of the 198th District Court may alternate the drawing of grand

juries with the judge of any other district court in each county

within the judge's district and may order grand and petit juries to

be drawn for any term of the judge's court as in the judge's judgment

is necessary, by an order entered in the minutes of the court.

Indictments within each county may be returned to either court

within that county.

SECTION 10. Section 24.396(b), Government Code, is amended

to read as follows:

(b) The judge of the 218th District Court may [ select grand

jury commissioners and ] impanel grand juries in each county in the

district but is not required to impanel a grand jury in any county

except when the judge [ he ] considers it necessary. The judge may

alternate the impaneling of grand juries in each county with the

judge of any other district court in that county, or the judges may

by agreement determine which one of the courts will impanel the

grand juries. Indictments within each county may be returned to any

district court within that county. All grand and petit juries drawn

for one district court in each county are interchangeable with any

other district court in that county as if the jury had been drawn

for the court in which it is used.

SECTION 11. Section 24.487(b), Government Code, is amended

to read as follows:

(b) The judge of the 341st District Court may [ select jury

commissioners and ] impanel grand juries in Webb County. The judge

of the 341st District Court may alternate the drawing of grand

juries with the judge of any other district court in the county. By

order entered on the minutes, for any term that the judge considers

it necessary, the judge may order grand and petit juries to be

drawn.

SECTION 12. Section 24.568(d), Government Code, is amended

to read as follows:

(d) The judge of the 424th District Court may [ select jury

commissioners and ] impanel grand juries in each county. The judge

of the 424th District Court may alternate the drawing of grand

juries with the judge of any other district court in each county

within the 424th Judicial District and may order grand and petit

juries to be drawn for any term of the court as the judge determines

is necessary, by an order entered in the minutes of the

court. Indictments within each county may be returned to either

court within that county.

SECTION 13. Section 24.596(b), Government Code, is amended

to read as follows:

(b) The judge of the 452nd District Court may [ select jury

commissioners and ] impanel grand juries in each county. The judge

of the 452nd District Court may order grand and petit juries to be

drawn for any term of the judge's court as in the judge's judgment is

necessary, by an order entered in the minutes of the court.

SECTION 14. The heading to Section 402.024, Government

Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 402.024. DEFENSE OF DISTRICT ATTORNEY[ , GRAND JURY

COMMISSIONER, ] OR GRAND JUROR.

SECTION 15. Section 402.024(b), Government Code, is amended

to read as follows:

(b) The attorney general shall defend a state [ grand jury

commissioner or ] grand juror who is a defendant in an action in any

court if:

(1) the suit involves an act of the person while in the

performance of duties as a [ grand jury commissioner or ] grand

juror; and

(2) the person requests the attorney general's

assistance in the defense.

SECTION 16. The following provisions are repealed:

(1) Articles 19.02, 19.03, 19.04, 19.05, 19.06, 19.09,

19.10, 19.11, 19.12, 19.13, 19.14, 19.15, and 19.17, Code of

Criminal Procedure; and

(2) Section 24.014(c), Government Code.

SECTION 17. Section 402.024(b), Government Code, as amended

by this Act, applies only to a court action arising from an act of a

person that occurs on or after the effective date of this Act. A

court action arising from an act of a person that occurred before

the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on

the date the act occurred, and the former law is continued in effect

for that purpose.