BILL REQ. #:  S-0453.1 

Read first time 01/14/2003.   Referred to Committee on Judiciary.

     AN ACT Relating to a jury duty exemption for sole caregivers; and amending RCW 2.36.100.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 2.36.100 and 1992 c 93 s 5 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Except for a person who is not qualified for jury service under RCW 2.36.070, no person may be excused from jury service by the court except upon a showing of undue hardship, extreme inconvenience, public necessity, or any reason deemed sufficient by the court for a period of time the court deems necessary. Unless the public need for juries in the court outweighs the individual circumstances of the person summoned, a judge of the court or clerk of the court will excuse a person from acting as a juror upon the request of that person if the person is the sole caregiver for a child or other dependent during the court's normal hours of operation, the person is unable to afford day care or make other arrangements for the care of the dependent, and the person personally attends to the dependent during the court's normal hours of operation.
     (2) At the discretion of the court's designee, after a request by a prospective juror to be excused, a prospective juror excused from juror service for a particular time may be assigned to another jury term within the twelve-month period. If the assignment to another jury term is made at the time a juror is excused from the jury term for which he or she was summoned, a second summons under RCW 2.36.095 need not be issued.
     (3) When the jury source list has been fully summoned within a consecutive twelve-month period and additional jurors are needed, jurors who have already served during the consecutive twelve-month period may be summoned again for service. A juror who has previously served may only be excused if he or she served at least two weeks of juror service within the preceding twelve months. An excuse for prior service shall be granted only upon the written request of the prospective juror, which request shall certify the terms of prior service. Prior jury service may include service in superior court, in a court of limited jurisdiction, in the United States District Court, or on a jury of inquest.