There is presently in the Legislature a bill to amend N.J.S.A. 2B:20-1 allowing persons convicted of indictable offenses to serve on juries by eliminating a disqualifier in the statute that makes persons with past convictions ineligible for jury service. We urge that the Legislature pass and the governor sign a curative amendment to N.J.S.A. 2B:20-1 to allow persons to render service on juries after their statutory punishment has been fully satisfied.

The ability of individuals who have been convicted of a felony to further participate in the democratic process and exercise a voice in their future, as well as in the future of the country, stirs passions among people who are not aware of prior remedial legislation in this and numerous other states which restores citizen rights to convicted felons after they have “paid their debt to society.”