Napoletano criticizes gov’s veto of bill that would allow felons to serve on juries
Domenick Napoletano, president of the New York State Bar Association, has criticized Governor Hochul’s decision to veto a bill lifting the ban on jury service for individuals with felony convictions.
Eagle file photo by Rob Abruzzese
Gov. Kathy Hochul recently nixed a bill that would’ve let felons serve on juries — a decision criticized by New York State Bar Association President Domenick Napoletano as a missed chance for redemption and fairness.
“All New Yorkers deserve a chance at redemption,” Napoletano said. “It is wrong to deny the rights of citizenship to felons who have paid their debts to society and are trying to start fresh. While helping New Yorkers reclaim their lives, the law the governor vetoed also would have gone a long way toward ensuring that defendants be judged by juries of their peers. That isn’t possible if in New York we continue the path we are now on and ban one of every three Black men from jury service because of the state’s felony exclusion law.”
New York’s felony exclusion law bars individuals with felony convictions from serving on juries, even after they have completed their sentences. Critics argue that this disproportionately impacts Black and Latino communities, where felony convictions are more common due to systemic inequalities in policing and sentencing, effectively excluding large segments of these populations from participating in a fundamental aspect of the justice system.
The bill, S206B/A1432A, sponsored by State Sen. Cordell Cleare and Assembly Member Jeffrion Aubry, aimed to address systemic inequities by restoring the right to jury service for those who have completed their sentences. NYSBA has commended the sponsors for their leadership on the issue.
In 2022, the NYSBA’s Task Force on Racism, Social Equity, and the Law raised the issue in its report, and explained that felony convictions should not automatically bar individuals from jury service.
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