Courts - Jury Service - Disqualification

SB 322 modifies Maryland's jury service disqualification rules for individuals with criminal convictions. It removes the requirement that someone must be "currently serving a sentence" for a crime punishable by over one year to be disqualified, while maintaining disqualifications for specific offenses like perjury, witness/jury intimidation, or crimes under Title 8 of the Criminal Law Article. The bill also keeps the existing provision allowing those pardoned for disqualifying convictions to serve on juries. This change affects individuals previously disqualified solely due to past convictions without active sentences, but not those convicted of the specified serious offenses. The bill takes effect October 1, 2026.