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Norton, Raskin and Gowdy Lead Effort to Raise Federal Juror Pay

March 19, 2018

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) - Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Congressman Jamie Raskin (D-MD), and Congressman Trey Gowdy (R-SC) today called for an increase in pay for people serving on federal juries, from $40 to $50 per day. This modest raise would be the first increase to federal juror pay in 28 years.

In a letter to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services & General Government requesting the increase, the Representatives wrote:

"While juror compensation was never meant to serve as a substitute for a salary and obviously does not, raising the daily rate of juror compensation to $50 per day would provide some small relief for the sacrifices made by jurors. Additionally, with this increase, jurors serving for extended periods on petit or grand juries would also be eligible to receive an additional $10 per day, bringing their rate of compensation to on par with the federal minimum wage daily pay rate of $58 per day. This is but a small step in providing reasonable compensation to the people serving this indispensable role in our judicial system."

The full letter, signed by 11 Members of Congress, is available here and below.

Rep. Tom Graves
Chairman
Financial Services & General Government
House Appropriations Committee
2000 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515

Rep. Mike Quigley
Ranking Member
Financial Services & General Government
House Appropriations Committee
1016 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Chairman Graves and Ranking Member Quigley:

As you finalize priorities for the Fiscal Year 2019 Financial Services and General Government Appropriations, we respectfully urge you to increase the rate of federal juror compensation, which was last increased 28 years ago in 1990, from $40 per day to $50 per day.

The buying power of this modest compensation has diminished drastically over the past three decades. If juror compensation had kept pace with the Consumer Price Index, jurors would receive nearly $80 per day for their services. This financial hardship is compounded for individuals serving on grand juries, who may have to appear two days per week for upwards of 18 months. Accordingly, people who do not receive pay from their employers during jury service face ever increasing financial difficulties simply for fulfilling their civic duty.

While juror compensation was never meant to serve as a substitute for a salary and obviously does not, raising the daily rate of juror compensation to $50 per day would provide some small relief for the sacrifices made by jurors. Additionally, with this increase, jurors serving for extended periods on petit or grand juries would also be eligible to receive an additional $10 per day, bringing their rate of compensation to on par with the federal minimum wage daily pay rate of $58 per day. This is but a small step in providing reasonable compensation to the people serving this indispensable role in our judicial system.

It is in the spirit of ensuring a functional jury trial system, we ask that the Fees of Jurors and Commissioners Program in the FSGG appropriations bill be fully funded at the requested level, which will include the monies necessary to cover the increased juror compensation. This will also require enacting the following bill language to provide authorization:

Sec. XX (a) Section 1871(b) of title 28, United States Code, is amended in paragraph (1) by striking "$40" and inserting "$50".

(b) EFFECTIVE DATE. – The Amendment made in subsection (a) shall take effect 45 days after the enactment of this Act.

We respectfully urge to you to support this increase to provide equitable compensation to the men and women fulfilling a critical public function by serving on juries in our civil and criminal justice systems and we thank you for your attention and consideration.

Sincerely,

Jamie Raskin
Trey Gowdy
Eleanor Holmes Norton
Jerrold Nadler
Elijah Cummings
Hank Johnson
Pramila Jayapal
Steve Cohen
Darrell Issa
Karen Bass
Cedric Richmond