Norton to Introduce Bill to Increase D.C. Juror Pay

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today announced she will introduce the District of Columbia Juror Pay Parity Act to increase the pay of D.C. Superior Court jurors. Currently, Superior Court jurors are paid $40 per day, and, under the Home Rule Act, only the D.C. courts and Congress have the authority to increase Superior Court juror pay. The bill would require that Superior Court jurors receive the same pay as federal jurors. The bill would also match the enhanced pay federal jurors receive for lengthy service. In 2018, Norton worked to successfully increase federal juror pay to $50 per day.

"This raise for D.C. jurors is long overdue," Norton said. "There is no good reason why the jurors controlled by the federal government in the District should have different pay. Jurors are just as indispensable to the D.C. justice system as they are to the federal justice system and deserve the same fair compensation."

Under the 1997 Revitalization Act, Congress took over responsibility for paying for the D.C. courts and many state-like functions. The D.C. courts, however, have always been under the control of Congress, even when D.C. funded them.