Pilot project to give jurors a pay raise

PASCO – It’s been 47 years since the state set jury duty pay at $10 a day.

The year was 1959, when “Ben-Hur” swept the Oscars and Alaska and Hawaii entered the union under Dwight D. Eisenhower’s presidency.

Next month, jurors in two Washington counties and one municipal court system will begin making $61.04 a day – the equivalent of eight hours at the state’s minimum wage – as part of a state-funded pilot project to see if boosting jury duty pay will get a greater number and more diverse pool of people to serve.

“Ten dollars a day is just ridiculous,” said Gene Batey, who was called by Franklin County for jury duty four Wednesdays in a row last month. “And they wonder why nobody wants to show up.”

Franklin and Clark counties and Des Moines Municipal Court were chosen to participate in the pilot project. The price tag: $569,453 through June 30. The Legislature would have to approve another $325,000 to continue the project through next October.

Franklin County’s jury database has 48,165 names of registered voters and holders of state drivers license or identification cards. Recent estimates put the county population at 64,200.

The clerk’s office summons 650 potential jurors each month. On average, about a quarter of those show up, and roughly 156 qualify to sit on a jury.

Veteran defense attorney Sam Swanberg said he supports the idea of paying jurors more. He said he sees fewer blue-collar workers on juries because they can’t afford to miss work, and there’s a dearth of minority jurors.

“Certainly, the cross-representation that I see in court on a regular basis, I think, doesn’t very accurately depict the actual cross section of our county,” Swanberg said. “I think you end up with a lot of older folks because they’re not working or whatnot.”

Under state law, jurors get paid $10 for each day’s attendance, plus 44.5 cents a mile for travel. Counties can raise juror pay up to $25, but most have opted to pay the minimum amount for budget reasons. Walla Walla County pays $25 a day.

Low juror pay is most problematic for the self-employed, employees at small businesses, stay-at-home parents and workers whose companies will not cover their wages while they are on jury duty. It’s even tougher if a trial lasts days or weeks.

“For a minimum-wage earner, juror compensation represents an 83 percent decrease in pay and a loss of more than $100 over the average life of a trial, which could be significant for a person whose gross income is just more than $15,000 per year,” according to the pilot project proposal by the state Administrative Office of the Courts.

A Washington State Jury Commission report in July 2000 said juror pay, adjusted for inflation, should have gone up to $55 in 1999.

“What $10 bought in 1959 when the jury fee was set would now require $70.14,” according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The jury commission’s report found that people dodge jury duty for various reasons, including economic issues, child care, time constraints and distrust of the judicial system. Some just don’t want to judge other people.

Others don’t realize they could be charged with a misdemeanor for failing to show up, though researchers say few people take that threat seriously, knowing they are unlikely to be penalized.