The governor of California sat down this weekend and signed bill after bill approved by Democratic lawmakers looking to make the state a trailblazer on immigrants' rights, especially for the undocumented. But on Monday, Governor Jerry Brown balked on perhaps the most controversial of them, vetoing a bill which would have made California the first state to allow legal immigrant noncitizens to serve on juries. In a brief statement to the state assembly afterward, Brown explained his decision thusly: "Jury service, like voting is quintessentially a prerogative and responsibility of citizenship. This bill would permit lawful permanent residents who are not citizens to serve on a jury. I don't think that's right."
The bill's sponsor, Democratic Assemblyman Bob Wieckowski, expressed disappointment with the governor's decision. "'Lawful permanent immigrants are part of the fabric of our communities, and they benefit from the protections of our laws, so it is fair and just that they be asked to share in the obligation to do jury duty, just as they serve in our courts, schools, police departments and armed forces," he said in a statement. "I don't see anything wrong with imposing this civic obligation on immigrants who can spend the rest of their lives in the United States."
According to the Associated Press, after the bill passed in the state legislature this spring, Wieckowski's office also indicated that courts in the state typically struggle to find jurors because the duty is seen by citizens as an inconvenience or a burden. The AP noted that a 2007 survey by the Center for Jury Studies found that 20 percent of courts nationwide reported a failure to respond or a failure to appear rate of 15 percent or greater, though it was unclear if those rates meant California suffered from a shortage of jurors.
The veto means that while defendants in California can be sure no one in the jury deciding their case will be a noncitizen, the lawyers defending or prosecuting them might be - among measures which Brown signed over the weekend was one which gave undocumented immigrants the right to become licensed to practice law. Other measures included the Trust Act, which made it illegal for local jails to detain individuals longer than necessary so that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents can come to interview and take them into custody if suspected to be in the country illegally - unless the individuals have been previously convicted of serious crimes.
RELATED: Calif. Gov. Jerry Brown Signs Trust Act
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