People who serve on juries would get a boost in compensation under a bill that’s being considered by the Judiciary Committee, an effort by some lawmakers to encourage participation and diversify jury pools.
The measure would allow people who are unemployed or who work part-time to receive “a flat fee equal to the minimum fair wage” during the first five days serving on a jury, based on an eight-hour day. Connecticut’s minimum wage is $16.35 per hour.
On Monday, legal officials spoke in favor of the bill at a public hearing and wrote to legislators urging its passage.
Members of the Connecticut Trial Lawyers Association said many people face financial difficulty when called to serve jury duty, especially those self-employed, working in hourly jobs, or employed by companies that don’t compensate for jury duty beyond the mandatory five days.
“When jury service imposes financial hardship, we inevitably see less economic diversity in our jury pools, undermining the constitutional requirement for juries that represent a fair cross-section of the community,” they noted in written testimony.
Currently, unemployed residents and part-time workers are not paid for their service during the first five days, but can apply for reimbursement of necessary expenses such as child care, parking and transportation. Under state law, employers must pay full-time workers (those working 30 or more hours per week) their regular wages for the first five days of jury service.
Starting on the sixth day, all jurors are paid $50 per day by the state regardless of their employment status.
The proposed bill would also increase compensation for jurors after the first five days. Instead of $50 per day, all jurors would earn the hourly minimum wage equal to an eight-hour day (about $130 daily).
Brian Flood, secretary of the trial lawyers association, told lawmakers in person Monday: “I see firsthand the types of people who want to serve on a jury but simply cannot afford to do so. The first group usually is parents who cannot afford child care while they’re in court, and the second group tends to be lower paid workers, such as restaurant staff, who rely on tips, or hairdressers or people in similar jobs. … we lose those valuable perspectives that should be part of the jury process.”
Additionally, the proposal seeks to raise the amount of money that jurors may be reimbursed for necessary expenses. Currently, reimbursement awards are no less than $20 but no more $50 per day. The measure would change the maximum amount to equal to an eight-hour day at minimum wage, or $130. And people who are unemployed or who work part-time would continue to be eligible for child care and transportation reimbursement after the first five days.
“Connecticut’s juror compensation is structured so individuals who are employed full time can serve as jurors. However, unemployed and part-time or per diem employees unable to bear the financial hardship of not working are unable to participate as a juror,” Deborah Del Prete Sullivan, legal counsel for the Office of the Chief Public Defender, said in written testimony. “Even individuals who have a full-time job are only paid regular wages for the first 5 days of jury service.
“By providing just compensation to these individuals and assistance for certain expenses, the system will be fairer and expand access to persons in the community to serve as jurors. This bill would provide a necessary solution while moving Connecticut further toward eradicating racial bias from the jury selection process.”
She added in live testimony before the committee: “We ask [for passage] because … we would like to have better representation of the community within which our clients are residing.”
The Connecticut Mirror reported in December that despite reforms enacted by the state, new data show minority communities are still underrepresented in jury pools in several of Connecticut’s judicial districts.
To encourage better participation, advocates and judicial officials have recommended increasing juror pay.
Elisabeth Semel, a law professor at the Berkeley School of Law who studied jury systems across the country, told the CT Mirror that the fear of losing out on a paycheck can prompt people with lower incomes to ignore a court summons when it arrives. It can also lead to judges dismissing more people from jury service due to financial hardship.
San Francisco’s courts recently undertook a pilot program that increased juror pay to $100 per day for anyone who earned less than 80% of the region’s median income, which showed significant results. It increased the likelihood of people with lower incomes participating in jury service and found those people were predominantly from minority communities.
Jurors in Connecticut are compensated at a higher rate than many other parts of the country. But that level of pay can still be unworkable for lower-income households. Fifty dollars per day equates to roughly $6.25 per hour.
Officials from the state’s Judicial Branch also backed the measure.
“Historically, the Judicial Branch does not take a position on policy, however, our ethical cannons compel us to support this proposal to promote access to justice for all,” agency officials wrote to lawmakers. “A fair trial by a jury of one’s peers is at the heart of our system of justice. Aside from taxation and voting, jury service for many of our residents is their only personal connection to our courts, and to our government. It shapes their view of our democracy.
“For the litigants, a trial determines liberty, employment, solvency, housing, parenthood, self-worth, and limits on future advancement. Our democracy is only as fair as our trials, and our juries are only as fair as our selection process.”