Following NCSC report, six states increase juror pay

Following NCSC report, six states increase juror pay

July 5, 2023 --  Starting this summer, jurors in several states will see a pay increase for fulfilling their civic duty. Six states passed legislation in 2023 to increase juror compensation.

Last year, NCSC found that on average jurors are paid an average of $16.61 on the first day of service in state courts. Media coverage of 2023 legislative action in states like Indiana and Oklahoma cited NCSC’s 2022 “Juror Compensation in the United States” report, noting that the most any state paid jurors directly was $50 per day.

Author Brendan W. Clark noted inconsistencies in the amounts and methods states use to compensate jurors and found that in almost all states, jurors’ daily compensation is far below the respective federal or state minimum wage. “This state of affairs is not new, but inadequate juror compensation raises important questions for the effective administration of justice today,” he wrote.

This spring, lawmakers passed the following increases:

• Indiana: Increased compensation from $15 to $30 per day prior to a jury being impaneled and $40 to 80 per day for subsequent days, with an increase to $90 on the sixth day.
• Nevada: Increased pay from $40 to $65 for those who are summoned as a juror or serving as a grand juror.
• North Dakota: Doubled the daily rate of pay jurors receive from $25 for the first half-day and $50 for each full-day of service to $50 and $100, respectively.
• Oklahoma: Increased juror's fees from $20 to $50 for each day's attendance before any court of record.
• Texas: Increased the reimbursement for jurors for the first day or fraction of the day from $6 to $20 and $58 for subsequent days. The bill also increased the amount that the state reimburses counties for payments made to persons who report to jury duty from $34 to $52. The bill requires the state to reimburse counties $14 for the first day or fraction of the day and $52 for subsequent days per juror.
• Virginia: Increased the jury duty allowance from $30 to $50 per day.

Additionally, Arizona lawmakers approved a budget in September that included an appropriation to fund up to $300 of compensation per day for jurors hearing superior court cases. Prior to the increase, jurors earned $12 per day for cases that did not exceed five days.

Jury service remains a cornerstone of civic engagement. A 2022 national public opinion survey by the National Center for State Courts found that 84% of Americans believe that trials by jury help make the justice system accountable to the rule of law and the Constitution. You can learn more about the basics of jury service from this three-minute video produced by the National Center for State Courts in collaboration with the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) at ncsc.org/juryservice.