monogodo

I got my check for Jury Duty yesterday -- a whopping $18. That's right, Dallas County paid me $6 per day to serve as a Juror. My brother got paid $17.50 by Dane County in Wisconsin to go in for half a day, and he didn't even get picked.

I was fine with it until I read the following article today:

Long just scraping by, jurors get a pay raise

12:00 AM CST on Thursday, December 29, 2005

Starting next week, Texas jurors will get a raise.

For their first day of service, jurors will continue to receive $6. But those who serve more than one day will receive $40 a day, the first increase in more than 50 years.

Before the increase, Texas had the lowest jury pay in the country.

"Jurors simply can't make it in downtown Dallas on $6," said family court Judge Marilea Lewis. "That simply isn't enough when you're talking about child care and income that's lost while you're sitting on jury."

A 2000 study by The Dallas Morning News and Southern Methodist University found that Hispanics, young adults and low-income people couldn't afford to miss work for jury duty. As a result, those groups were underrepresented on Dallas County juries.

The increase will be paid for by a new $4 fee for anyone convicted of a crime other than a parking or pedestrian violation.

DMN

Had I been summoned to serve just 3 weeks later, and been picked for a 3-day trial, I would have been paid $86. Even when I take into account the total number of hours I was actually at the courthouse (not counting lunch), I only made $1.50 per hour. At the new rate, I'd have made $7.17 per hour.

Oh well, it'll be at least 6 months before I'm eligable to serve again.

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