S 2491: Prohibits peremptory challenges of prospective jurors based on race, color, national origin, ancestry, gender, gender identity or expression, religion, religious practice, age, disability, or sexual orientation.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 2491 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE January 21, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. GOUNARDES -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Codes AN ACT to amend the criminal procedure law, in relation to prohibiting peremptory challenges of prospective jurors based on race, color, national origin, ancestry, gender, gender identity or expression, religion, religious practice, age, disability, or sexual orientation The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 270.25 of the criminal procedure 2 law is amended to read as follows: 3 1. A peremptory challenge is an objection to a prospective juror for 4 which no reason need be assigned. Upon any lawful peremptory challenge, 5 the court must exclude the person challenged from service. 6 § 2. Section 270.25 of the criminal procedure law is amended to add a 7 new subdivision 4 to read as follows: 8 4. (a) A party shall not use a peremptory challenge to remove a 9 prospective juror on the basis of such juror's race, color, national 10 origin, ancestry, gender, gender identity or expression, religion, reli- 11 gious practice, age, disability, or sexual orientation. 12 (b) A party may object to the improper use of a peremptory challenge 13 if such party believes that such challenge was made on an unlawful basis 14 in violation of paragraph (a) of this subdivision. After such objection 15 is made, any further discussion shall be conducted outside the presence 16 of the panel. The objection shall be made before the jury is impaneled, 17 unless information becomes known that could not have reasonably been 18 known before the jury was impaneled. 19 (c) Upon the objection made pursuant to paragraph (b) of this subdivi- 20 sion, the party exercising the peremptory challenge shall state the 21 reasons for exercising such challenge to the court. 22 (d) The court shall evaluate the reasons given to justify the peremp- 23 tory challenge in light of the totality of the circumstances. The court EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD01203-01-5 
 S. 2491 2 1 shall consider only the reasons actually given and shall not speculate 2 on, or assume the existence of, other possible justifications for the 3 use of the peremptory challenge. If the court determines that, in the 4 view of a reasonable person, the race, color, national origin, ancestry, 5 gender, gender identity or expression, religion, religious practice, 6 age, disability, or sexual orientation of a juror was a factor in the 7 exercise of the peremptory challenge, then the objection shall be 8 sustained and the peremptory challenge shall be defeated. The court need 9 not find purposeful discrimination to sustain such objection. The court 10 shall explain the reasons for its ruling on the record. 11 § 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after 12 it shall have become a law and shall apply to all jury selections 13 commenced on or after such date.