Unemployment recipients could be added to Nevada jury pool

CARSON CITY — Nevada’s court system would get more data to broaden the jury pool and increase minority representation on juries, under a legislative proposal.

Assembly Bill 207 would allow jury commissioners in Nevada’s district court systems to maintain a list of potential jurors with the state Employment Security Division records used for unemployment benefits.

The bill, sponsored by Assemblyman Ozzie Fumo, D-Las Vegas, also requires courts to maintain a list of potential jurors with sources already available, including voter registration data, Department of Motor Vehicles records, and utility records. The bill also would require reports with information about the race of each trial juror selected be compiled and sent twice a year to the state.

The Assembly Judiciary Committee heard the bill on Friday, without taking immediate action.

Attorneys who support the measure say minorities are woefully underrepresented on juries and creates due process concerns because defendants are supposed to be tried by a jury of their peers. They said a broader net of potential jurors is needed to greater reflect the demographic makeup of the state or individual counties. Clark County is 11 percent black and 29 percent Hispanic or Latino.

“I find it sad in fact that in Clark County, which is probably the most diverse county in the state, that we have this ongoing problem,” said Lisa Rasmussen, a lawyer who represents Nevada Attorneys for Criminal Justice.

Clark County’s 8th Judicial District Court system uses utility records, DMV records and voter registration data to the district’s master list of potential jurors. The county also compiles daily reports about jurors’ ethnicity.

Rural Nevada counties use a patchwork of different sources, sometimes relying on property records.

The measure has attracted concerns from the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation about preserving its confidential data and the potential impact on people claiming unemployment who have a long-term jury assignment.

That’s because to qualify for unemployment, an individual has to be actively seeking work and readily available to start a job, said Renee Olson, administrator of the Employment Security Division. The division is seeking an amendment to be taken out of the bill.

“It seems likely that you’re going to capture most of those people through the DMV records anyway,” Olson said.

Assemblyman Ira Hansen, R-Sparks, raised concerns that the proposal is tantamount to “big brother” targeting people for jury service.

“Why is big brother always trying to force everybody to vote or be in a jury when a certain percentage of people flat out want to be left alone,” Hansen said.

Assemblyman Elliot Anderson, D-Las Vegas, however, said “to simply send out a notice to more people” isn’t asking too much.

“We all have to do our part,” he said.

Contact Ben Botkin at bbotkin@reviewjournal.com or 775-461-0661. Follow @BenBotkin1 on Twitter.