California lawmaker proposing pay raise for jurors

SACRAMENTO - A lawmaker is pushing for a pay raise to fulfill a civic duty. CBS13 is getting answers on the possible impact of a jump in jury pay.

If you ask the lawmaker behind this idea, they'd say it would expand the diversity of the jury pool, making a splash with some added cash. One hundred dollars a day. 

But it wouldn't be for everyone: For some people, getting a jury duty summons is just an annoyance. But for others, it can be a real financial hardship.

"That's something that you have to do and that's taking away time from your regular job," one person told CBS13. 

"In California, the law is that employers can if they want but they don't have to, and not a lot of them do," said attorney Mark Reichel.

Currently, in California, jury duty pay is only $15 a day.

"It's ludicrous and the fact that it's been neglected this long almost shows a disdain for the jury system," said Reichel.

Attorneys say the jury pool becomes less diverse when people with low incomes can't participate.

"You don't have a true cross-section of the community," said Reichel.

"I did a trial up in South Lake Tahoe...in January and half the panel virtually claimed a hardship," said attorney Cliff Safranski.

"Nobody should not be allowed to serve on a jury because they don't have enough money," said State Assemblyman Phil Ting (D - San Francisco).

Now, Ting is introducing a bill at the capitol that would give some jurors $100 a day. So who would qualify for the jury duty pay raise?

"Folks who are unemployed, people who are self-employed, or people [whose] job will not pay for them to serve on a jury," said Ting.

"It's a great idea; I love it," said Safranski.

The jury pay raise is supported by many who've been called to serve.

"I think $100 a day would be great," said a local resident. "it's not much, but at least it could help out a little bit."

And supporters say it's an effort to improve an integral part of our justice system.

"It just stems from a very simple principle that we're all allowed to be tried in front of a jury of our peers," said Ting.

Raising pay -- even just a little -- to serve on a jury has been a success. A pilot program launched last year in San Francisco that included a bump in pay found that more people of color and more people with below-average incomes were more eager to serve.