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RCW 2.36.080

Selection of jurors—State policy—Exclusion on account of membership in a protected class or economic status prohibited.

Applied in 18 court decisions — leading case 74 Wash. 2d 744 - State v. Smith (1968)

Most recently applied in State Of Washington, V. Cody Terrell Wade (September 2023)

2018 c 23 s 1; 2015 c 7 s 3; 1992 c 93 s 2; 1979 ex.s. c 135 s 2; 1967 c 39 s 1; 1911 c 57 s 2; RRS s 95

How often courts cite this section

196819801990200020102020202360
citing decisions per year

Court decisions citing this, by year. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.

(1) It is the policy of this state that all persons selected for jury service be selected at random from a fair cross section of the population of the area served by the court, and that all qualified citizens have the opportunity in accordance with chapter 135, Laws of 1979 ex. sess. to be considered for jury service in this state and have an obligation to serve as jurors when summoned for that purpose.

(2) It is the policy of this state to maximize the availability of residents of the state for jury service. It also is the policy of this state to minimize the burden on the prospective jurors, their families, and employers resulting from jury service. The jury term and jury service should be set at as brief an interval as is practical given the size of the jury source list for the judicial district. The optimal jury term is one week or less. Optimal juror service is one day or one trial, whichever is longer.

(3) A citizen shall not be excluded from jury service in this state on account of membership in a protected class recognized in RCW 49.60.030, or on account of economic status.

(4) This section does not affect the right to peremptory challenges under RCW 4.44.130, the right to general causes of challenge under RCW 4.44.160, the right to particular causes of challenge under RCW 4.44.170, or a judge's duty to excuse a juror under RCW 2.36.110.

Official source: Washington State Legislature. Reproduced from public-domain Washington statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.