Panelists answered the following question: Should lawful, non-citizen immigrants be allowed to serve on trial juries in the state of California?
Bill Mifsud: “No. We live in the greatest country in the world. Priding ourselves in the land of opportunity and that we are innocent until proven guilty. If a person has not taken the oath to become a citizen how can a person have the right to sit on a jury? I respect a law abiding person but a non-citizen should not be allowed on any jury.”
Richard Place: “Absolutely not. Even if it this legislation holds up under a challenge of the 6th and 14th Amendment you would expect a juror to understand the rest of the Constitution. Studying the Constitution is part of the Naturalization process and is essential to the jurist understanding the charges. You don’t want them to be as dumb as our Legislature.”
Nants Foley: “No. That is a right and responsibility of citizens of the United States.”
Marty Richman: “No, this is a dangerous politically-driven idea designed to devalue citizenship; the next step would be to allow non-citizens to vote in state and local elections. Legal immigrants should be encouraged to become citizens with its rights, privileges, and obligations. They must demonstrate knowledge of the English language, U.S. government and history (civics), and attachment to the United States by taking an Oath of Allegiance to the U.S. Constitution. Those apply even to legal immigrant members of the armed forces who apply for citizenship.”
Ruth Erickson: “It’s a privilege as a citizen of California and the U.S. to be able to serve on a trial jury, a grand jury or to vote, etc. It is not a right for a non-citizen, legal or not, to have those privileges!”
Mary Zanger: “Yes. Although I think that if a legal non-citizen were to receive a jury summons that person might just faint dead away; better have an amblance ready. We do have a fair system of justice. If a defendant is a legal non-citizen then that defendant is entitled to a jury of peers or to a jury of legal non-citizens as specificed by our own laws. In that example legal non-citizens would be needed to serve on a jury.”
