IS THE ECONOMY MAKING IT MORE DIFFICULT FOR JURORS TO SERVE?
With double digit unemployment rates, some courts are finding it more difficult to select jurors for trials running more than a couple of days. A recent story in the LA Times on the topic of recession woes affecting jurors has shown that in extreme cases, this reluctance to serve has escalated into rebellion.
In the past, financial woes have allowed for hardship exceptions allowing jurors to be relieved from jury service. This was especially true for those called to serve in long cases, the self employed wage earner or if the juror was a single, working parent. In today’s troubling environment, the difficult balance between economic hardship and a parties right to a jury trial is challenging lawyers.
The economic situation has put lawyers and judges in a very awkward situation as many potential jurors will not get paid if they are forced to serve. No pay could equal no future job. What many counties or cities are doing is raising the daily jury compensation to assist unemployed or financially strapped jurors. For example, in the City of Dallas, jurors are more willing to serve as their daily compensation has been raised from $6 to $40. Without financial incentives, it may be difficult to force people into jury service when it would deeply impact their ability to earn a living. The disgruntled jurors on your panel will only cause problems. A disgruntled juror can harbor resentment towards one or both parties and deliver injustice to a case.
What could possibly happen during this economic downfall is to make it more difficult for injured parties to recover full and fair compensation. While corporate America may not be sympathetic with victims bringing lawsuits, the working class sector of society does tend to understand and empathize with injured victims. Excluding those potential jurors due to financial hardship, can disadvantage injured parties seeking compensation.
