An Act Regarding Jury Service
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 14 MRSA §1216, as amended by PL 1983, c. 688, §7, is repealed and the following enacted in its place:
§ 1216. Frequency and length of service by jurors
1. Frequency. Over the course of a person's life, the person may not be required:
A. To serve or attend court for prospective service as a traverse juror more than 3 times and not more often than once in any 5-year period. For purposes of this paragraph, a requirement to serve or attend court for possible service as a juror for more than 15 court days, except if necessary to complete service in a particular case, is considered a separate call to service as a juror;
B. To serve on more than 3 grand juries but not on more than one grand jury in any 5-year period; or
C. To serve as both a grand and traverse juror in any 5-year period.
2. Term of grand jury service. The terms of the grand jury in any county must be set by the Chief Justice of the Superior Court with a maximum of 12 months’ service required. When the number of grand jurors is reduced by death or otherwise, additional grand jurors may be selected and summoned under the direction of the court at any time.
Effective September 20, 2007