Senate advances constitutional amendment and statute changes to preserve jury‑size rules

The Utah Senate on Jan. 19 adopted a floor amendment to SJR 7 — a proposed constitutional amendment intended to facilitate court consolidation — to preserve minimum jury sizes and moved that measure to the third‑reading calendar along with statutory conforming changes.

Senator Steiner proposed the amendment to ensure the measure would not remove an existing constitutional guarantee of at least eight jurors in felony cases. "I propose an amendment on page 1 line 20 of SJR 7... it takes out of our state constitution the requirement that there be at least 8 persons on a jury for a felony," Steiner said on the floor, arguing the change could raise concerns with voters. The Senate adopted Steiner’s amendment by voice vote.

Senator Hilliard explained the measure is intended to align Article I, Section 10 of the Utah Constitution with a reformed court structure, preserving a 12‑person jury in capital (death penalty) cases and allowing the Legislature to set jury numbers otherwise, with a backstop that "in no event shall a jury consist of fewer than 4 persons." Hilliard said the proposed language also preserves an eight‑member jury for felony cases in practice and that SB 53 will amend statute to match the constitutional change.

After floor amendment and discussion, the Senate recorded SJR 7 receiving 25 aye votes and 4 absent; SB 53 was also moved forward to third reading with matching statutory language clarifications.

What’s next: SJR 7 will continue through the constitutional amendment process; if ultimately adopted by the Legislature and voters (per Utah's constitutional amendment process), the statutory and judicial practice changes described will be implemented and SB 53 will be reconciled with final constitutional language.