STAND. COM. REP. NO.443-02

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2002

RE: H.B. No. 2304

H.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2002

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred H.B. No. 2304 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO JUROR PRIVACY,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to:

(1) Provide that juror qualification forms shall not be part of the court record and not a public record, but shall be disclosed in redacted form to the litigants; and

(2) Require personal information on certified lists of jurors to be confidential, except for individuals' names.

The Judiciary and Common Cause Hawaii submitted testimony in support of this bill. The Hawaii State Bar Association and Office of the Public Defender submitted comments on this bill.

Your Committee finds that this bill will enhance the protection of privacy for jurors and potential jurors in court cases in Hawaii. While there are legitimate purposes for some information regarding jurors to be made available to litigants, some personal information elicited on juror qualification forms is only necessary for administrative purposes, and should not be made available to litigants. However, your Committee notes that requiring that juror qualification forms not be part of the court record entirely may limit the right to appellate review of the jury selection process.

Upon further consideration, your Committee has amended this bill by:

(1) Specifying that juror qualification forms shall be made available to the public only after the redaction of jurors' social security numbers, driver's license numbers, street addresses, and home and business phone numbers;

(2) Adding general geographic location to the items that are elicited on juror qualification forms;

(3) Clarifying that juror qualification forms shall be made available for purposes of determining compliance with jury selection procedures under section 612-23, Hawaii Revised Statutes;

(4) Requiring that the street address of jurors be redacted from juror qualification forms when the forms are made available to litigants; and

(5) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for purposes of style, clarity and consistency.

 

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2304, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2304, H.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs,

 

____________________________

ERIC G. HAMAKAWA, Chair