Australian Capital Territory Numbered Acts Australian Capital Territory Numbered Acts16. Section 24 of the Principal Act is amended—
(a) by omitting subsection (1) and substituting the following subsection:
“(1) Where a jury precept is delivered to the Sheriff, the Sheriff shall choose from the names on the jury list as many persons as he or she considers necessary to ensure that the number of persons that the jury precept requires to attend to serve as jurors will be in attendance at the Court at the time specified in the precept.”;
(b) by inserting at the end of paragraph (2) (a) “or”;
(c) by omitting paragraph (2) (b);
(d) by omitting from subsection (2) “by lot”;
(e) by inserting after subsection (2) the following subsection:
“(2A) The choosing of names of persons under subsection (1) or (2) shall be by lot or by use of a computer programmed to make a random selection.”;
(f) by omitting from subsection (3) “the Commissioner” and substituting “a police officer”;
(g) by omitting subsection (4) and substituting the following subsection:
“(4) A police officer may make such inquiries as he or she thinks fit in an endeavour to ascertain whether any person whose name is included on the list referred to in subsection (3) is a disqualified person and the officer shall report in writing the result of any such inquiries to the Sheriff.”;
(h) by omitting from subsection (6) all the words after “that list and shall” and substituting “remove the person's name from the jury list”; and
(i) by omitting subsections (7), (8), (9) and (10) and substituting the following subsections:
“(7) Where it appears to the Sheriff, after considering a report made under subsection (4)—
(a) that a person whose name is included on the list referred to in subsection (3) is not a disqualified person but has been convicted of an offence punishable on summary conviction; and
(b) that, having regard to the nature and number of the offences committed by the person, when they were committed and any penalties imposed in respect of them, the person would be unable to adequately perform the functions of a juror;
the Sheriff shall remove the name of the person from that list and shall, by notice in writing sent by post addressed to the person at his or her last known place of residence, advise the person that his or her name has been removed and that he or she may object to the removal by written application to a Judge.
“(8) Where a person makes an application referred to in a notice under subsection (7), the Judge shall fix a date and time for the hearing of the application and shall cause the applicant and the Sheriff to be notified accordingly.
“(9) Where the Judge decides that an applicant's name should not have been removed from the list referred to in subsection (3), the Sheriff shall put the applicant's name back on the list.
“(10) The Sheriff shall cause to be served on each person whose name was chosen under subsection (1) or (2), as the case requires, and whose name was not, in pursuance of subsection (6) or (7), removed from the list referred to in subsection (3), a summons in accordance with Form 2 in Schedule 1 together with a notice that contains—
(a) a statement of the grounds on which, under section 10, persons are not qualified to serve as jurors;
(b) a request that if the person believes he or she is not qualified to serve as a juror on such a ground, or is exempt or excused from so serving, the person inform the Sheriff to that effect; and
(c) a statement that—
(i) if the person believes he or she is not qualified to serve as a juror on such a ground, or is exempt or excused from so serving, and informs the Sheriff accordingly; and
(ii) the Sheriff refuses to withdraw the summons;
the person may apply in writing to a Judge for a review of the decision.
“(11) An action or proceeding, civil or criminal, does not lie against a police officer personally for or in respect of any act done by the officer in good faith in connection with the making of a report under subsection (4).”.