BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 555 Page 1 CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS AB 555 (Alejo) As Amended August 26, 2015 Majority vote -------------------------------------------------------------------- |ASSEMBLY: |79-0 |(April 13, |SENATE: |40-0 | (September 1, | | | |2015) | | |2015) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | -------------------------------------------------------------------- Original Committee Reference: JUD. SUMMARY: Extends the provisions of the Expedited Jury Trials Act indefinitely. Specifically, this bill repeals the January 1, 2016, sunset date of the Expedited Jury Trials Act and adds a new Mandatory Expedited Jury Trial program. The Senate amendments: 1)Make the Expedited Jury Trial process mandatory for cases where the amount in controversy is less than or equal to $25,000, with certain exceptions. 2)Provide for a six-month delayed implementation date for Judicial Council to develop rules and forms, and a sunset date of July 1, 2019. 3)Specify a time limit of up to five hours for each party to AB 555 Page 2 complete voir dire and to present its case; 4)Update the requirement in existing law for Judicial Council to adopt rules and forms to establish uniform procedures to reflect removal of the sunset date; and 5)Eliminate, because of 3) above, the requirement for Judicial Council to adopt rules for time limits for jury selection and presentation of evidence and argument. EXISTING LAW: 1)Provides, until January 1, 2016, the Expedited Jury Trial Act (Act), which allows an expedited jury trial (EJT) in a civil matter after a dispute has arisen and an action has been filed when all parties agree to participate and, if represented, their respective counsel sign a proposed consent order granting an expedited jury trial. 2)Provides that, except as specifically authorized in the Act, the implementing rules, or in a consent order authorized therein, the applicable statutes and rules governing civil actions apply. 3)Allows the parties to exercise only three peremptory challenges and to request one additional peremptory challenge each, which is to be granted by the court as the interests of justice may require, and prescribes that a jury may deliberate as long as needed. 4)Provides that the rules of evidence apply in expedited jury trials, unless the parties stipulate otherwise. 5)Greatly limits the ability of the parties to obtain post-verdict relief such as directed verdicts, motions to set aside the verdict, or motions for a new trial. AB 555 Page 3 6)Requires the Judicial Council, on or before January 1, 2011, to adopt rules and forms to establish uniform procedures implementing the provisions for expedited jury trials 7)Defines various purposes of and terms used in the Act. FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs. COMMENTS: The author explains the reason for the bill as follows: The expedited jury trial (EJT) option was executed in 2011 to help courts deal with overloaded dockets that were the result of major budget cuts and courtroom closures. EJTs are ideal for cases involving smaller dollar amounts that do not involve catastrophic injuries, cases that often affect lower-income workers. These cases are prone to being lost in the system and leaving vulnerable Californians without compensation. The EJT statute is set to sunset January 1, 2016. Effectiveness of the EJT Program in Streamlining Trial Court Congestion. The goal of the EJT in California has been to promote the speedy and economical resolution of civil cases in order to conserve judicial resources. Participation has been completely voluntary. The applicable rules of procedure have been designed to be flexible and a reduced jury size is employed in the trials. The trials are completed in approximately one day. However, since its January 1, 2011, inception date, this new trial option has not been used as frequently as originally anticipated. AB 555 Page 4 According to an informational report submitted to the Judicial Council on January 30, 2015, 39 of the 58 counties reported data on the use (or non-use) of EJTs in their superior courts from January 1, 2011, to August 31, 2014. Of those 39 counties, 25 reported that no EJTs had been conducted during the reporting period. The 14 remaining counties reported that one or more EJTs were conducted during the reporting period. A compilation of the figures from those 14 counties shows that a total of 156 EJTs were conducted during the entire reporting period. For individual courts, the percentage of EJTs ranged from 2% to 9% of the jury trials conducted during the reporting period. A Need for Adjustments to the Act's Existing Provisions by Practitioners. Taking into consideration the small percentage of jury trials which have been conducted pursuant to the EJT program, an informal working group has been formed to discuss how the program could become more attractive to parties and more beneficial to the overburdened court system. The working group consists of many of the same stakeholders who urged enactment of the Expedited Jury Trials Act in 2011. The provisions of this bill are the result of that EJT working group. According to the sponsor, the Consumer Attorneys of California, the EJT format provides resolution of cases while saving time, expense and court resources. Analysis Prepared by: Alison Merrilees / JUD. / (916) 319-2334 FN: 0001753 AB 555 Page 5