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Senate narrows use of peremptory challenges in civil cases, extends protections against biased strikes
Summary
SB 645 extends limits on peremptory challenges — originally applied in criminal trials — to some civil cases, retaining anti-discrimination protections in civil rights litigation while carving out other civil matters; the measure passed after floor amendments.
The Senate passed SB 645, a measure that applies anti-discrimination limits on peremptory jury strikes (previously focused on criminal trials) to certain civil trials while creating narrower procedural requirements for others.
Senator Umberg, the bill’s sponsor, said the measure extends the legal prohibition on using peremptory strikes to exclude jurors because of “race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, ethnic group, age, mental disability, physical disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, [and] gender expression” to civil cases, but preserves the more rigorous procedural protections in civil rights, hate crimes and related litigation. “This bill deals now with civil litigation,” he said, and added that the measure “is supported by both defense counsel and by consumer attorneys.”
Senator Dr. Shirley Weber, speaking in favor, said recent amendments were a meaningful step and urged continued work to expand protections in civil areas beyond civil-rights statutes. Other supporters said peremptory strikes are vulnerable points for bias in jury selection; the bill’s sponsor said his longer-term goal would be elimination of peremptory challenges altogether, though that was not part of the enacted language.
The measure passed with strong bipartisan support; the Senate approved the amended bill by unanimous roll-call. Floor debate emphasized both the need to prevent identity-based exclusion from juries and the practical difficulty of extending the full procedural regimen of AB 3070 (the 2020 law) into the wide range of civil litigation. The bill keeps anti-discrimination prohibitions while limiting some of the procedural mechanisms to litigation categories where racial or other disparities are at issue.
