Senate OK's bill boosting cases for Suffolk jurors

The state Senate attempted yesterday to stave off a looming shortage of jurors in Suffolk County by unanimously approving a bill that would allow courts to summon jurors for service more frequently.

The county faces a two-month deficit of jurors, leaving state officials scrambling to solve what they have labeled a "public safety crisis" that could potentially bring Boston's central court system to a standstill this fall.

Legislators hope to widen the pool of jurors by amending state law to make it possible to summon jurors after exactly three years.

Current law disqualifies jurors who, at the time of their summons, have served within the previous three calendar years. This means that a juror who served any time in 2003 could not be summoned again until 2007.

The state's jury commissioner, Pamela J. Wood, said that the bill, which drops the "calendar year" wording, combined with ongoing efforts to reduce the number of jury days, cut the size of jury pools, and relocate some cases, would erase the projected fall shortage.

"We've seen extraordinary efforts on the part of the trial courts to make the pool that we've got stretch as far as it can," Wood said.

Suffolk courts are among the most active in the region, the result of high homicide rates and increased use of investigative grand juries in cases of gang and gun violence. The county is also home to a large number of college students and noncitizens, resulting in a smaller pool of potential jurors.

Jake Wark, a spokesman for Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley, called the bill a "step in the right direction," but said "we hope a more far-reaching solution can be reached."

Conley has said that legislators should consider allowing Suffolk to summon residents from other counties for jury duty.

Legislators said yesterday that specific long-term solutions are not currently under consideration, but added that they hope to be able to continue to give jurors a three-year break between service. In other states, citizens are often given only one or two years between calls for jury duty.

The bill is set to go before the House for a vote tomorrow, and, if passed, could go into effect by the end of the week, pending approval by the governor.

Representative Eugene L. O'Flaherty, cochairman of the Judiciary Committee, said he is confident the bill will pass in the House.

Hernandez can be reached at jhernandez@globe.com.