Congress moves to open federal juries to people with disabilities

What it does

This bill amends federal jury service law to prohibit courts from excluding people based on disability or age. It requires courts to consider reasonable accommodations when evaluating whether someone can serve, rather than automatically disqualifying them for having a disability or being older.

Why we flagged it

The bill's sole function is to amend federal jury qualification law to prohibit disability- and age-based exclusions and require reasonable accommodations. It is a straightforward civil rights measure in the judicial context.

What the text implies

• Courts will need to develop and fund reasonable accommodation procedures for jurors with disabilities, potentially increasing administrative burden and cost.
• The definition of 'disability that cannot be reasonably accommodated' will likely require case-by-case judicial interpretation, creating initial uncertainty about scope.
• Jury pools may become more representative of the general population, potentially affecting jury composition in ways that could influence verdict patterns over time.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

People with disabilities and older citizens gain a statutory right to jury service and courts must consider reasonable accommodations rather than categorically excluding them. This expands civic participation and democratic representation in the judicial system.

Named in the bill

Federal courts, District courts, 28 U.S.C. § 1862, 28 U.S.C. § 1865

Where it stands

12 cosponsors: 11 Democrats, 1 Independents.

• Jul 28, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
• Jul 28, 2025 — Referred to Senate Committee on the Judiciary · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

1 lobbying clients named this bill on 2 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $199,349 in lobbying spend. A filing names 95 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.

More lobbying clients named this bill than 0% of bills with at least one filing.

Ed Markey, the sponsor, reported $658,450 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• Paralyzed Veterans of America — $199,349 on 2 filings

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 17, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.