Juries
New Jersey governor OKs jury service for thousands with criminal convictions
Outgoing New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy talks to reporters in Trenton, New Jersey, on Nov. 5, 2025. (Photo by Seth Wenig/The Associated Press)
Outgoing New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy has restored eligibility to “hundreds of thousands of New Jerseyans” with prior criminal convictions to serve on juries.
Murphy, during his final days in office and shortly before the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday, signed an executive action earlier this week to open jury service to about 350,000 people in the state.
He made the order official while inside New Hope, a Black church involved in social justice advocacy, according to coverage in Bolts.
The pen that Murphy used to sign order was given to Dameon Stackhouse, a formerly incarcerated man who has worked to restore the right to serve on a jury to others, including those with completed prison sentences and people with a post-incarceration period of parole or probation.
Before the order was signed, about 25% of Black adults were prohibited from serving on a jury in the state, according to the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice.
Write a letter to the editor, share a story tip or update, or report an error.
