Where’s the Justice in Jury Pool Pay?

* I have been an occasional member of Orange County’s jury pool who has yet to be seated on a case.

I heartily agree with the conclusions in Darrach G. Taylor’s Sept. 5 Orange County Voices article “that Orange County has an appalling, wasteful, thoughtless and bureaucratic jury system, which is an insult to the citizens.”

And, I would add, penurious.

The pay is $5 per day, but not even until your second day. I guess the first day is a tryout. And you get 15 cents per mile for driving to court, an amount about half that allowed by a not-overly-generous Internal Revenue Service. Worse, the mileage is paid only one way. Are we to walk home?

I agree with the people earning many, many times $5 per day who wax eloquent to jury pools about the importance of jury duty to our justice system. So why not pay jury pool members an amount that reflects important service?

As it stands now, the burden of this important civic duty is not shared fairly. Public employees who continue to receive their regular salary, the employees of the few public-spirited companies that continue salaries, housewives and retirees are doing more than their share. And others are doing less than their share.

Sure, raising payments would cost money that would come from all the citizens and taxpayers. But all the citizens and taxpayers would then be bearing a fair share.

BILL STANTON

Garden Grove