Jury duty exemption for women breastfeeding., the official text

Second Regular Session of the 124th General Assembly (2026)

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  SENATE ENROLLED ACT No. 139

   AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning courts and court
officers.

   Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Indiana:

   SECTION 1. IC 33-28-5-18, AS AMENDED BY P.L.157-2009,
SECTION 1, IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE
JULY 1, 2026]: Sec. 18. (a) The supervising judge or the jury
administrator shall determine whether a prospective juror is qualified
to serve or, if disabled but otherwise qualified, whether the prospective
juror could serve with reasonable accommodation. A person who is not
eligible for jury service may not serve. The facts supporting juror
disqualification or exemption must be recorded under oath or
affirmation. A disqualification or exemption is not authorized unless
supported by the facts. The jury administrator shall make a record of all
disqualifications.

   (b) A prospective juror is disqualified to serve on a jury if any of the
following conditions exist:

      (1) The person is not a citizen of the United States, at least
      eighteen (18) years of age, and a resident of the county.
      (2) The person is unable to read, speak, and understand the
      English language with a degree of proficiency sufficient to fill out
      satisfactorily a juror qualification form.
      (3) The person is incapable of rendering satisfactory jury service
      due to physical or mental disability. However, a person claiming
      this disqualification may be required to submit a physician's or

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      authorized Christian Science practitioner's certificate confirming
      the disability, and the certifying physician or practitioner is then
      subject to inquiry by the court at the court's discretion.
      (4) A guardian has been appointed for the person under IC 29-3
      because the person has a mental incapacity.
      (5) The person has had the right to vote revoked by reason of a
      felony conviction and the right has not been restored.
   (c) A person scheduled to appear for jury service has the right to
defer the date of the person's initial appearance for jury service one (1)
time upon a showing of hardship, extreme inconvenience, or necessity.
The court shall grant a prospective juror's request for deferral if the
following conditions are met:
      (1) The prospective juror has not previously been granted a
      deferral.
      (2) The prospective juror requests a deferral by contacting the
      jury administrator:

         (A) by telephone;
         (B) by electronic mail;
         (C) in writing; or
         (D) in person.
      (3) The prospective juror selects another date on which the
      prospective juror will appear for jury service that is:
         (A) not more than one (1) year after the date upon which the
         prospective juror was originally scheduled to appear; and
         (B) a date when the court will be in session.
      (4) The court determines that the prospective juror has
      demonstrated that a deferral is necessary due to:
         (A) hardship;
         (B) extreme inconvenience; or
         (C) necessity.
   (d) A prospective juror who is at least seventy-five (75) years of age
may be exempted from jury service if the prospective juror notifies the
jury administrator that the prospective juror meets any of the
following:
      (1) Is at least seventy-five (75) years of age and wishes to be
      exempted from jury service.
      (2) Is a woman who:
         (A) has given birth in the preceding three hundred
         sixty-five (365) days;
         (B) is currently breastfeeding the baby; and
         (C) wishes to be exempted from jury service.
   (e) A person may not serve as a petit juror in any county if the

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person served as a petit juror in the same county within the previous
three hundred sixty-five (365) days in a case that resulted in a verdict.
The fact that a person's selection as a juror would violate this
subsection is sufficient cause for challenge.

   (f) A grand jury, a petit jury, or an individual juror drawn for service
in one (1) court may serve in another court of the county, in accordance
with orders entered on the record in each of the courts.

   (g) The same petit jurors may be used in civil cases and in criminal
cases.

   (h) A person may not be excluded from jury service on account of
race, color, religion, sex, national origin, or economic status.

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President of the Senate

President Pro Tempore

Speaker of the House of Representatives

Governor of the State of Indiana

Date:                             Time:

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