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Bonnen pushes English for juries
Published January 8, 2009
While jurors might be confused with Latin euphemisms used by lawyers and judges in court, a local legislator wants to make sure they at least understand what is said in plain English.
State Rep. Dennis Bonnen, R-Angleton, pre-filed House Bill 501 ahead of the 81st legislative session that would require all jurors to be able to read and write English in order to serve on a jury.
The Legislature convenes Tuesday.
The current form of the law allows potential jurors to claim an exemption from jury service if they can’t read or write English. If a juror does not notify the attorneys or a judge that they cannot speak English, they could very well and have ended up on a jury, local attorneys said.
Federal courts require potential jurors to be able to speak, read and write English.
If the bill becomes law, Texas district clerks would have to make sure potential jurors speak and write English, Bonnen said.
“Now you can ask them,” he said.
The bill came about after lawyers chose a man who spoke no English for a jury in a Brazoria County murder trial in 2003. The juror gave one-word answers in English during jury selection, but when seated on the jury, he said he didn’t know English, Brazoria County District Attorney Jeri Yenne said.
The man was removed and an alternate juror took his place. The defendant in that trial eventually was convicted and sentenced to life in prison. Had the juror remained longer on the panel, it could have jeopardized the case, Bonnen said.
“Imagine what would have happened if it had been appealed,” Bonnen said.
This bill would move the burden away from jurors to report they can’t communicate in English. Instead, it would require district clerks to find out whether a potential juror reads and writes the language, Bonnen said.
“I think it’s a great bill,” Yenne said. “We have accidentally placed people on a jury who didn’t speak English. I’ve had to warn my prosecutors to have conversations” to show the juror understands English.
Since the laws are written in English and court proceedings are spoken in English, jurors should know the language and be able to communicate, said Jeff Gilbert, Brazoria County Bar Association president.
“How are they going to hear testimony?” if they don’t know English, he said. “Communication is key. Bottom line is we try our cases in English.”
Brazoria County Deputy District Clerk Nate Moore said when the jury pools of 400 to 600 come in on Mondays, a handful are dismissed immediately because they don’t understand English. Some jurors do understand English but worry they might be overwhelmed during trial, he said.
“If you can function day to day, you won’t have a problem,” Moore said. “The important thing is to be comfortable.”
Ultimately, the judge ends up determining whether they can serve on a jury, he said.
Under the current system, if a person who can’t speak or write English ends up in a jury pool, attorneys sometimes have to use their strikes to get them dismissed, Gilbert said. Some judges allow non-English speakers to be dismissed without using a strike while some will not, he said.
Those strikes ordinarily are used at a lawyer’s discretion and shouldn’t have to be used on someone who doesn’t understand the proceedings, he said.
“They’re very valuable,” Gilbert said. “You don’t get that many.”
John Tompkins is senior reporter for The Facts. Contact him at (979) 237-0149.
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