BILL NUMBER: SB 968 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 27, 2007
INTRODUCED BY Senator Simitian
FEBRUARY 23, 2007
An act to amend Section 209 of the Code of Civil
Procedure, relating to jury service. add Section
1669.9 to the Code of Civil Procedure, relating to contracts.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 968, as amended, Simitian. Jury service: absence.
Contracts.
Existing law provides that contracts for unlawful purposes or
contracts that are contrary to public policy are void. Existing law
permits a court to refuse to enforce a provision of a contract that
the court finds to have been unconscionable at the time it was made.
This bill would void as contrary to public policy any provision of
a contract that provides for a penalty, including, but not limited
to, a fee, an increased interest rate, or an accelerated payment
schedule, based on behavior not directly related to the performance
of the contract, including a default with a person or entity that is
not a party to the contract.
Existing law provides that a prospective trial juror who has been
summoned for service, and who fails to attend as directed or to
respond, as specified, may be attached and compelled to attend and
punished for contempt. Existing law, effective until January 1, 2010,
permits a court, in lieu of imposing sanctions for contempt, to
impose reasonable monetary sanctions if it first provides the juror
with notice and an opportunity to be heard. As part of this process,
a juror is required to respond to an initial summons within 12
months.
This bill would change the period within which a juror must
respond to the initial summons, as described above, from within 12
months to within one year of the date of service.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 1669.9 is added to the
Code of Civil Procedure , to read:
1669.9. Any provision of a contract that provides for a penalty,
including, but not limited to, a fee, an increased interest rate, or
an accelerated payment schedule, based on behavior not directly
related to the performance of the contract, including a default with
a person or entity that is not a party to the contract, is void as
contrary to public policy.
SECTION 1. Section 209 of the Code of Civil
Procedure, as amended by Section 5 of Chapter 567 of the Statutes of
2006, is amended to read:
209. (a) Any prospective trial juror who has been summoned for
service, and who fails to attend as directed or to respond to the
court or jury commissioner and to be excused from attendance, may be
attached and compelled to attend. Following an order to show cause
hearing, the court may find the prospective juror in contempt of
court, punishable by fine, incarceration, or both, as otherwise
provided by law.
(b) In lieu of imposing sanctions for contempt as set forth in
subdivision (a), the court may impose reasonable monetary sanctions,
as provided in this subdivision, on a prospective juror who has not
been excused pursuant to Section 204 after first providing the
prospective juror with notice and an opportunity to be heard. If a
juror fails to respond to the initial summons within one year of the
date of service, the court may issue a second summons indicating that
the person failed to appear in response to a previous summons and
ordering the person to appear for jury duty. Upon the failure of the
juror to appear in response to the second summons, the court may
issue a failure to appear notice informing the person that failure to
respond may result in the imposition of money sanctions. If the
prospective juror does not attend the court within the time period as
directed by the failure to appear notice, the court shall issue an
order to show cause. Payment of monetary sanctions imposed pursuant
to this subdivision does not relieve the person of his or her
obligation to perform jury duty.
(c) (1) The court may give notice of its intent to impose
sanctions by either of the following means:
(A) Verbally to a prospective juror appearing in person in open
court.
(B) The issuance on its own motion of an order to show cause
requiring the prospective juror to demonstrate reasons for not
imposing sanctions. The court may serve the order to show cause by
certified or first-class mail.
(2) The monetary sanctions imposed pursuant to subdivision (b) may
not exceed two hundred fifty dollars ($250) for the first violation,
seven hundred fifty dollars ($750) for the second violation, and one
thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500) for the third and any
subsequent violation. Monetary sanctions may not be imposed on a
prospective juror more than once during a single juror pool cycle.
The prospective juror may be excused from paying sanctions pursuant
to subdivision (b) of Section 204 or in the interests of justice. The
full amount of any sanction paid shall be deposited in a bank
account established for this purpose by the Administrative Office of
the Courts and transmitted from that account monthly to the
Controller for deposit in the Trial Court Trust Fund, as provided in
Section 68085.1 of the Government Code. It is the intent of the
Legislature that the funds derived from the monetary sanctions
authorized in this section be allocated, to the extent feasible, to
the family courts and the civil courts. The Judicial Council shall,
by rule, provide for a procedure by which a prospective juror against
whom a sanction has been imposed by default may move to set aside
the default.
(d) On or before December 31, 2008, the Judicial Council shall
report to the Legislature regarding the effects of the implementation
of subdivisions (b) and (c). The report shall include, but not be
limited to, information regarding any change in rates of response to
juror summons, the amount of moneys collected pursuant to subdivision
(c), the efficacy of the default procedures adopted in rules of
court, and how, if at all, the Legislature may wish to alter this
chapter to further attainment of its objectives.
(e) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2010, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2010, deletes or extends
that date.