Grand Jury’s Raise to $50 a Day Makes It State’s Best Paid

Orange County supervisors on Tuesday doubled the daily compensation for members of the grand jury from $25 to $50 in a bid to attract a younger, more diverse panel.

The increase, approved on a 4-1 vote, will take effect July 1, making the day rate received by county grand jurors the highest in the state. Grand jurors typically meet five days a week.

“We want quality people, younger people,” said Sheldon Singer, grand jury foreman for 1998-99, who urged supervisors to support the increase. “This is a full-time job and the per diem has not changed in 25 years.”

Singer told supervisors that increased compensation was needed to help recruitment efforts. Otherwise, the pool of applicants would remain primarily white and retired with an average age of 64, he said.

Singer said the pool of applicants two years ago included 16 Latinos, three African Americans, three Asians and nearly 100 white applicants. “That does not sound like a cross-section of Orange County,” Singer said.

Mothers have complained that child-care costs are more than the grand jury compensation and have prevented them from applying, Singer said.

The compensation boost, which was pushed by Supervisor Chuck Smith, was part of a package that also included a $50 daily payment for prospective jurors who attend a weeklong orientation. Jurors will now receive a mileage reimbursement similar to that of county workers: 34 1/2 cents a mile.

The annual cost of the compensation increase, to come from the county’s general fund, is $205,000.

In other counties, grand jurors meet monthly or sometimes weekly. In Los Angeles, Orange and other large counties, they meet five days a week.

The state sets the rate at $10 a day for grand jury members but allows counties to make increases, said Rubin Lopez, legislative representative for the California State Assn. of Counties in Sacramento.

Los Angeles County pays grand jurors $25 a day. “None are at the $50 rate,” Lopez said.

Smith said the rate has been so low it has made it impossible for many businessmen and single mothers to consider joining the county grand jury.

Supervisor Todd Spitzer voted for the increase but only after raising concerns about whether the county was setting a statewide precedent.

“Maybe we should be looking at individual financial-assistance grants rather than a blanket approach,” Spitzer said.

Supervisor Tom Wilson voted against the measure.

The county’s population of 2.8 million is 57% white, 28% Latino, 12% Asian and Pacific Islander, and 2% African American.

Last year, the county impaneled the most diverse grand jury ever after focusing on outreach efforts.