JURIES ACT 1967 - SECT 24 Choosing jurors

JURIES ACT 1967 - SECT 24

    (1)     If a jury precept is given to the sheriff, the sheriff shall choose from the names on the jury list as many persons as he or she considers necessary to ensure that the number of persons that the jury precept requires to attend to serve as jurors will be in attendance at the Supreme Court at the time specified in the precept.

    (2)     If it appears to the sheriff that—

        (a)     a person whose name has been so chosen is dead, is exempt or excused from serving as a juror or has become a disqualified person; or

        (b)     there are reasonable grounds for believing that it is unlikely that a person whose name has been so chosen will be served with the jury summons;

the sheriff shall choose, in substitution for the name previously chosen, the name of another person whose name appears on the jury list.

    (3)     For subsection (1) and (2), the names must be chosen randomly (whether by electronic or other means).

    (4)     The sheriff shall prepare, and give a police officer a copy of, a list of the names chosen under subsection (1) or (2) (the jury roll ).

    (5)     A police officer may make the inquiries that the police officer considers appropriate to determine whether any person whose name is included on the jury roll is a disqualified person and the officer must report in writing, electronically or otherwise, the result of the inquiries to the sheriff.

    (6)     A person shall not, except in the exercise of a function under, or otherwise for, a law in force in the ACT, either directly or indirectly, make a record of, or divulge or communicate to any person, information obtained in the course of inquiries referred to in subsection (5).

    (7)     If it appears to the sheriff, after considering a report under subsection (5), that a person whose name is included on the jury roll is a disqualified person, the sheriff must remove the name of the person from the jury roll and jury list.

    (8)     The sheriff must remove the name of a person from the jury roll if it appears to the sheriff, after considering a report made under subsection (5) that—

        (a)     the person is not a disqualified person but has been convicted of an offence punishable on summary conviction; and

        (b)     having regard to the regulation, schedule 1, part 1.2, (Disqualified people) and the nature and seriousness of the offence, the person would be unable to adequately exercise the functions of a juror.

    (9)     If the sheriff removes the name of a person from the jury roll under subsection (8), the sheriff must, by written notice sent by post addressed to the person at the person's last known address, advise the person that their name has been removed and that the person may object to the removal by written application to a judge.

    (10)     If a person makes an application under subsection (9), the judge must fix a date and time for the hearing of the application and notify the applicant and sheriff of the date and time.

    (11)     If the judge decides that an applicant's name should not have been removed from the jury roll, the sheriff must put the applicant's name back on the jury roll.

    (12)     An action or proceeding, civil or criminal, does not lie against a police officer personally for or in relation to any act done by the officer in good faith in connection with the making of a report under subsection (5).