Swiping at Jurors

Jury duty is rarely easy or amusing, and it just got worse. As of Wednesday the federal government no longer pays parking fees for federal jurors. That probably means an expense of $5 per day near the U.S. Courthouse in downtown Los Angeles.

Certainly government must save money where it can to cut the federal deficit, but the new parking policy is expected to save only $115,000 nationwide in a budget of close to $1 trillion.

The parking fee may seem small to many jurors, but not to potential jurors who are poor or live on tight budgets and find jury service a hardship even without the fees.

Federal jurors serve eight to ten days on the average, but some of them spend months in court. They earn $30 a day, but checks are not written until the trial is over, and many must turn that check over to employers. Some jurors must travel from as far away as San Luis Obispo, which is within the jurisdiction of the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles. Lack of transportation will not excuse a juror.

Finally, there is no sign that the budget-cutters looked before they leaped. Financial hardship is the most common ground for a request to be excused from jury duty. This would make one more argument, admittedly relatively small, for potential jurors. This country’s trial process already is slower than it should be. Shrinking the pool of potential jurors could well slow it even more.