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1995 SESSION

LD8414156
HOUSE BILL NO. 1474
House Amendments in [ ] -- February 6, 1995
A BILL to amend and reenact § 8.01-353 of the Code of Virginia, relating to notice to jurors; copy of jury panel to be made available to counsel.
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Patron--Cohen
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Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice
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Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That § 8.01-353 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:

§ 8.01-353. Notice to jurors; making copy of jury panel available to counsel; objection to notice.

A. The sheriff shall notify the jurors on the list, or such number of them as the judge may direct to appear in court on such day as the court may direct. Such notice shall be given a juror as provided by § 8.01-298. Verbal direction given by the judge, or at his direction, to a juror who has been given notice as hereinbefore provided that he appear at a later specified date, shall be a sufficient notice. Any notice given as provided herein shall have the effect of an order of court. No particular time in advance of the required appearance date shall be necessary for verbal notice hereunder, but the court may, in its discretion, excuse from service a juror who claims lack of sufficient notice. Upon request, the clerk or sheriff or other officer responsible for notifying jurors to appear in court for the trial of a case shall make available to all counsel of record in that case, a copy of the jury panel to be used for the trial of the case at least forty-eight hours before the trial. [ Upon request ] at least forty-eight hours in advance of trial, the clerk shall make available to all counsel of record a list of those jurors who will constitute the panel for the particular case in which counsel has an interest. Such copy of the jury panel shall show the name, age, address, occupation and employer of each person on the panel. Any error in the information shown on such copy of the jury panel shall not be grounds for a mistrial or assignable as error on appeal, and the parties in the case shall be responsible for verifying the accuracy of such information.

B. No judgment shall be arrested or reversed for the failure of the record to show that there was service upon a juror of notice to appear in court unless made a ground of exception in the trial before the jury is sworn.