Sec. 1. 14 MRSA §1204, sub-§1, as enacted by PL 2003, c. 299, §1, is amended to read:

1. Number of members. The court shall seat a jury of either 8 or 9 members, and all jurors shall participate in the verdict unless excused for good cause by the court. Unless the parties otherwise stipulate, the verdict must be decided by the unanimous votes of at least 3/4 2/3 of the jurors participating in the verdict and no verdict may be taken from a jury reduced to fewer than 7 members.

SUMMARY

Public Law 2003, chapter 299 revised the laws governing civil juries to allow jurors chosen as alternates who hear the entire case to participate in rendering a verdict. Because the new law increased the potential number of voting jurors, the new law inadvertently abrogated an attribute of the civil trial system, which allowed for the existence of up to 2 dissenting jurors before the declaration of a mistrial. Under the new law, the number of jurors participating in the verdict may be 7, 8 or 9 and the verdict must be reached by the unanimous votes of 3/4 of the jurors.

This bill requires that at least 2/3 of the jurors participating must unanimously agree in the verdict. The purpose of this bill is to avoid the expense and inefficiency that would be associated with an increased number of declared mistrials and to restore to the civil trial system the potential to have 2 dissenting jurors without the necessity of declaring a mistrial and without increasing beyond 6 the number or jurors who must unanimously agree to render a verdict. Only in the event that the jury is reduced to 7 members would a verdict be decided by the unanimous votes of fewer than 6 jurors.