2025 Session Last amended: 2013 session

§ 593.32 — Prohibition of Discrimination

Plain-Language Summary

This section prohibits excluding any citizen from jury service based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, economic status, marital status, sexual orientation, or physical or sensory disability. However, a juror with a physical or sensory disability may still be removed for cause if that specific disability would prevent them from trying a particular case.

593.32 PROHIBITION OF DISCRIMINATION.

Subdivision 1.Prohibition.

A citizen shall not be excluded from jury service in this state on account of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, economic status, marital status, sexual orientation, or a physical or sensory disability. §

Subd. 2.Certain challenges for cause.

Nothing in subdivision 1 restricts the right to strike an individual from being impaneled on a jury for cause based on a showing that a physical or sensory disability will impair the juror’s ability to try a particular case.

History:

1977 c 286 s 2; 1992 c 453 s 1; 2013 c 90 s 1

History: History: 1977 c 286 s 2; 1992 c 453 s 1; 2013 c 90 s 1

Practical Notes

This anti-discrimination provision is broader than federal law — it expressly covers economic status, marital status, and sexual orientation in addition to the usual protected characteristics. Attorneys using peremptory strikes in ways that appear to target protected groups may face Batson-type challenges. The disability exception is narrow and requires an individualized showing that the specific disability affects the specific case.

Source: Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes