New York state could soon allow those convicted of felonies who have served out their entire sentence to be selected for jury duty after the State Senate approved a bill this week that would allow that change.

The legislation has also moved through committee in the Assembly this year, though Democrats who control the chamber haven't yet scheduled it for a vote on the floor.

State Sen. Brian Benjamin, D-Manhattan, sponsors the bill in the Senate, which is also led by Democrats this year for the first time in nearly a decade. He said the bill is intended to treat those convicted of felonies who've served their time like any other member of society.

“When people have made mistakes and served their time, they've been rehabilitated. When they reenter society they should be able to participate fully in our democracy,” Benjamin said. “Serving on juries and being able to vote are both part of being equal, full citizens in a free democracy.”

The bill is a simple, one-sentence change to the state's judiciary laws concerning who qualifies to be a juror in New York. The law currently imposes a lifetime ban on anyone who's been convicted of a felony from serving on a jury. Jurors also have to be an adult citizen of the U.S. who can communicate and understand English.

Benjamin's bill would change the law to eliminate the lifetime ban on jury service for convicted felons. The law would, instead, read that “if convicted of a felony, have completed any sentencing related to such conviction, including any period of probation or community supervision,” a person would qualify as a juror.

As the bill language says, a potential juror with a felony conviction would have to complete their entire sentence in order to qualify. An individual who is no longer incarcerated, but is still on probation, would not qualify, for example.

Republicans in the Senate were critical of the legislation this week, arguing that it would be unlikely for a convicted felon to be an impartial juror.

“Justice redefined by Senate Democrats means ignoring the pain and suffering of crime victims, their families, the public, and law enforcement to deliver perks for the most violent criminals,” said Senate Republican Leader John Flanagan. “How could Democrats believe that Judith Clark, a terrorist who killed two police officers and a security guard, would be an impartial juror?”

The bill was approved largely along party lines, with 36 votes in favor of the legislation in the 63-member chamber. It's been passed out of committee in the Assembly, meaning it could be brought to the floor by Democrats at any time for a vote.

The lower house will have the next six weeks to consider the bill before they're scheduled to leave Albany for the year in June.

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