Arizona lawmakers move to partially restore jury challenges

(KYMA, KECY/ AP News) - The groundbreaking elimination of the longstanding practice of allowing lawyers to remove potential trial jurors without explanation could soon be changed.

This as Arizona lawmakers are advancing a proposal to partially undo the state Supreme Court’s decision.

Proponents of elimination of so-call peremptory challenges say it would help prevent discrimination in jury selection, but legislators supporting the previous decision said its restoration of the challenges in criminal cases would preserve a right intended to help ensure just and fair verdicts.

The rule change approved last August by the state Supreme Court took effect January 1st, eliminating peremptory challenges in both civil and criminal cases.

With elimination of peremptory challenges in criminal cases, prosecutors and defense lawyers can still ask judges to eliminate individual prospective jurors for bias or other “for cause” reasons.

Arizona was the first state to eliminate peremptory challenges, which are a hot-button legal issue nationally.