Sponsors (12)
The bill improves access to and fairness of federal jury service for people with disabilities by requiring courts to consider reasonable accommodations, while imposing added costs, potential scheduling delays, and some litigation risk as courts implement and define those accommodations.
People with disabilities are less likely to be excluded from federal jury service because courts must consider and provide reasonable accommodations, increasing their ability to serve and improving jury representativeness and fairness.
Court administrators and federal court staff gain a clear statutory duty to assess and provide reasonable accommodations, standardizing practices across districts and clarifying responsibilities.
Federal courts and taxpayers may face additional administrative costs to assess and provide accommodations (e.g., remote access, interpreters, facility modifications).
Court schedules and jury selection processes may take longer because courts will need time to determine, arrange, and implement appropriate accommodations.
People with disabilities and state or federal governments may face legal disputes over what counts as a 'reasonable' accommodation, creating litigation or appeals.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Prohibits disqualifying people from federal grand or petit juries because of a disability and requires courts to consider and provide reasonable accommodations so otherwise-qualified jurors are not excluded. It replaces language that used the term "infirmity" with a standard focused on "disability that cannot be reasonably accommodated," and adds an explicit rule that a person may not be disqualified under jury-qualification rules if reasonable accommodation would make them qualified.
Introduced July 28, 2025 by Edward John Markey · Last progress July 28, 2025