A San Francisco lawmaker is pushing a bill to raise juror pay in criminal trials.
Assemblymember Phil Ting (D-San Francisco) wants to expand a city of San Francisco pilot program that raises jurors daily pay from $15 to $100 in criminal cases.
Ting believes the move would ensure all Californians have access to a jury of their peers as promised by the U.S. Constitution. He said the bill would make juries across the state "fairer and a more accurate reflection of their communities."
"Unfortunately, when you look at who comes through the criminal justice system, it's disproportionately people of color … it's disproportionately low-income, working families … and that's not reflective of our juries," Ting said during a news conference Wednesday in San Francisco.
Under the Be The Jury bill (AB 881), jurors qualify for the daily $100 stipend if their household income is less than 80% of their area median income and they meet one of the following additional criteria:
- Their employer does not compensate for any jury service
- Their employer will not compensate for the estimated duration of the trial
- They are self-employed
- They are unemployed
Both prosecutors and public defenders support the proposal.
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