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Act to provide for the early publication of the laws of California," passed March thirteenth, one thousand eight hundred and fifty, and all other acts and parts of acts inconsistent with the provisions of this act, are hereby repealed.

Qualifications of jurors.

Persons exempt

from serving as jurors.

Persons may be excused.

CHAPTER CIV.

AN ACT concerning Jurors.-[Passed May 3, 1852.]

The People of the State of California, represented in Senate and
Assembly, do enact as follows:

ARTICLE I.

THE QUALIFICATIONS AND EXEMPTIONS OF JURORS.

SECTION 1. A person shall not be competent to act as juror unless he be, First, a citizen of the United States: Second, an elector of the county in which he is returned: Third, over twenty-one and under sixty years of age: and Fourth, in the possession of his natural faculties: Fifth, nor shall any person be competent to act as juror who has been convicted of a felony, or misdemeanor, involving moral turpitude.

SEC. 2. A person shall be exempt from liability to act as a juror, if he be, First, a judicial officer: Second, any other civil officer of this state or of the United States, whose duties are, at the time, inconsistent with his attendance as a juror: Third, an attorney or counsellor Fourth, a minister of the gospel or a priest of any denomination: Fifth, a teacher in a college, academy, or school: Sixth, a practicing physician: Seventh, an officer, keeper, or attendant of an almshouse, hospital, asylum, or other charitable institution, created by or under the laws of this state: Eighth, any person engaged in the performance of duty, as officer, keeper, or attendant of any county jail, or of the state prison: Ninth, a captain, master or other officer, or any person employed on board of a steamer, vessel, or boat, navigating the waters of this state, and keepers of public ferries. (1)

SEC. 3. A person may be excused from acting as juror, when for any reason, his interests, or those of the public, will be materially injured by his attendance, or when his own health or the death or sickness of a member of his family, requires his absence.

(1) See Chap. 104.

ARTICLE II.

MANNER OF SUMMONING, DRAWING AND FORMING GRAND JURORS.

SECTION 4. When, at any time, before the session of a court, author- Grand juries. ized by law to inquire into public offences, by the intervention of a grand jury, it shall appear necessary to the presiding judge, of said court, that a grand jury should be summoned, or when a petition signed by twenty or more electors of the county, asking that a grand jury should be summoned, shall be presented to said judge, he shall, in writing, order the sheriff of the county in which the court is to be held, to summon such grand jury.

grand jurors.

SEC. 5. Upon receipt of the order, as mentioned in the last sec- Mode of drawing tion, the county judge, county clerk and sheriff, shall immediately proceed to copy from the assessment roll of the county, the names of fifty persons, each name to be upon a separate piece or slip of paper; the ballots, so prepared, shall be placed in a box prepared by the county clerk for that purpose, and said county clerk shall, in the presence of the county judge and the sheriff, draw from the box the names of twenty-four persons to serve as grand jurors until discharged by the court. The clerk shall keep a correct list of the names, placed in the box, and the names of those so drawn, and the list shall be signed by the county judge, the county clerk, and the sheriff, and be filed in the clerk's office. It shall also be the duty of the sheriff, upon receipt of the order, to post written notices of the time and place of the drawing, provided in this section, in three of the most public places in the town or city, in which the court is to be held; such notice shall be posted at least one week before such

drawing.

notified in

SEC. 6. After the drawing, the clerk shall make a certified copy of Jurors to be the list mentioned in the last section, and deliver the same to the writing. sheriff. It shall be the duty of the sheriff, upon receipt of such list, to proceed to summons the persons mentioned therein, to attend the court, by giving written notice to each of them, personally, or by leaving such notice at his place of residence, with some person of suitable age and discretion.

return.

SEC. 7. The sheriff shall also return in the list to the court, at its Sheriff to make opening, specifying the persons summoned, and the manner in which each was notified.

SEC. 8. At the opening of the court the list shall be called over Jurors to be fined for negleet. and the court may impose a fine, not exceeding one hundred dollars, for each day a grand juror shall, without cause, neglect to attend.

Sheriff to summon additional

jurors.

Challenges.

The judge may order a jury

has commenced:

If, however, the notice was not personally served, the fine shall not be imposed, until, upon an order to shew cause, an opportunity has been offered to the juror to be heard.

SEC. 9. When, of the persons summoned, not less than seventeen and not exceeding twenty-three attend, they shall constitute the grand jury. If, of the persons summoned, less than seventeen attend, they shall be placed on the grand jury, and the court shall order the sheriff to summons from the body of the county and not from the by-standers, a sufficient number to complete the grand jury.

SEC. 10. If a challenge to the panel or to an individual grand juror, or if, and as often as it becomes necessary, from any other cause, the court may order the sheriff to summons immediately, or for a day fixed, from the body of the county, but not from the bystanders, a sufficient number of persons to complete the grand jury, or to form a new grand jury as the case may be.

SEC. 11. If the judge of the court, as provided in section four of after the session this act, shall not deem it necessary that a grand jury shall be summoned, or if the petition, therein mentioned, shall not be presented, and if, after the commencement of the session of the court, it shall appear proper to said judge that a grand jury should be summoned, he shall cause an order to be entered upon the minutes of the court, ordering the same, and a copy of such order shall be delivered to the sheriff. SEC. 12. It shall be the duty of the sheriff, upon receipt of the order mentioned in section eleventh, to proceed immediately and summon twenty-four persons from the body of the county but not from the by-standers, to appear before the court at the time mentioned in said order; the summons shall be served in the same manner as provided in section sixth of this act.

Duty of sheriff.

Competency of jurors.

SEC. 13. The grand jury, provided for in the last section, shall be subject to the provisions of sections nine and ten, of this act. It shall be drawn and may be completed in the same manner, and the jurors who shall be absent, without cause, shall be subject to the fine, as provided in section eight, and the said jury shall be as competent, in all respects, as if summoned before the session of the court.

ARTICLE III.

TRIAL JURORS AND THE FORMATION OF TRIAL JURIES AND

INQUEST.

JURIES OF

Trial juries.

How summoned and drawn.

SECTION 14. A trial jury shall be drawn for every general term of the district court, and for every term of the court of sessions held for criminal business.

SEC. 15. The trial jurors for the district court and court of ses

sions shall be drawn and summoned in the same manner as grand jurors are required to be summoned by this act, and the provisions of article second of this act, as to the formation of grand juries, and the imposition of a fine upon grand jurors for non-attendance, when summoned, shall apply to the formation of trial juries in those courts, the word "trial" being substituted for "grand" in the sections of that article, and except that no trial jury shall consist of more than twelve jurors.

order the

trial jury after

ment of term.

SEC. 16. When, from any cause, it shall become necessary during The court may the term, the court may order the sheriff to summon either immediate- summoning of a ly or for a day fixed, from the citizens of the county but not from the the commenceby-standers, a sufficient number of persons to complete the trial jury, or form a new trial jury, as the case may be. The persons thus summoned shall be as competent trial jurors, in all respects, as if drawn and summoned before the commencement of the term.

the superior

SEC. 17. The trial juries for the superior court of the city of San Trial juries for Francisco shall be formed in the manner prescribed in the seven suc- court of San ceeding sections.

Francisco.

SEC. 18. On the first or any subsequent day of the term, and How summoned. as often as it may be necessary, the said superior court shall by entry on its minutes direct an order to be issued to the sheriff of the county of San Francisco, to summon from the citizens of the city of San Francisco, not less than twenty-four nor more than forty-eight persons to appear forthwith, or at such time as may be named.

return.

SEC. 19. The clerk of said court shall issue the order, and the Sheriff to make sheriff shall execute and return it at the time specified, with a list of the persons summoned; if he has been unable to summon the whole number, in the time allowed, he shall return the order with the list of the names of the persons so summoned.

enlarge the time

SEC. 20. The court may, in its discretion, enlarge the time of the The court may return and direct the sheriff to summon the whole number, or may of return. proceed to empannel the jury or juries from the number summoned.

pel attendance.

SEC. 21. Upon return of the order or upon the expiration of the Court may comfurther time allowed, the names of the persons summoned shall be called and the court shall proceed to empannel a jury or juries; if any person summoned fails to attend, without reasonable excuse, the court may impose a fine upon him not exceeding one hundred dollars, and may compel attendance by attachment.

by ballot.

SEC. 22. The clerk shall prepare separate ballots, containing the Jury to be drawn names of those in attendance, and deposit them in a box; he shall then in open court, draw from the box twelve names, and the persons so drawn shall form a trial jury. If the court so direct, he shall continue the drawing until a second jury is drawn. When two

Others may be summoned.

Discharge of juries.

Juries for county and probate

courts.

Recorders', justices', and mayors' court.

The same.

Fines.

Jury of inquest.

juries are drawn, the court may direct at what time they shall each attend.

SEC. 23. If there be not a sufficient number of the persons summoned to form one jury, or if required, two juries, the court may direct others to be summoned.

SEC. 24. At the end of the first week of the term, or at any subsequent time, the court may discharge the whole jury, and if there be two juries in attendance, may discharge one or both of them; and when a jury is discharged, another may be formed in the same manner as herein prescribed.

SEC. 25. A trial jury shall be summoned for the county court, and for the probate court, whenever specially ordered by those courts. The trial jurors shall be summoned and the trial juries formed in the same manner as trial jurors are required to be summoned, and trial juries are required to be formed by this act, for the superior court of the city of San Francisco, except that the jurors for those courts shall be summoned from the citizens of the county. All the provisions of this act as to jurors for the superior court, the imposition of a fine for non-attendance, the summoning of a new jury, etc., shall apply to juries summoned for the county court, and for the probate

court.

SEC. 26. A trial jury shall be summoned for a recorder's court, and for a mayor's court, from the citizens of their respective cities, and for a justices' court from the citizens of its city or township, whenever specially ordered by those courts. The jurors for a recorder's or mayor's court shall be summoned by the marshal of the city within which the court is established, and the jurors for a justice's court shall be summoned by its constable.

SEC. 27. The officer shall return to the court a list of the names of the persons summoned, with his certificate of the names of service; the list shall be called over at the time appointed for the trial. If a sufficient number of competent and indifferent jurors do not attend, or if any of them shall be excluded, exempted, or excused, from any cause, the justice, recorder or mayor, as the case may be, shall direct the officer to summon others from the vicinity, but not from the by standers, sufficient to complete the jury.

SEC. 28. The justice, mayor, or recorder, before whose court jurors are summoned, may impose a fine not exceeding fifty dollars, for the neglect of a juror, without reasonable cause, to attend.

SEC. 29. The officer before whom a jury of inquest is summoned, may impose a fine upon a juror for non-attendance, in the same manner and subject to the same conditions as jurors may be fined for nonattendance in a justice's court.

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