INDIANAPOLIS — Thanks to a new law that took effect on July 1, Hoosiers receiving the call for jury duty are now receiving double the compensation of what jurors used to make.
House Bill 1466 increased the jury appearance fee from $15 per day to $30 per day, as the court works to select jurors.
The new law, which you can read fully at the bottom of this article, also increased the payment rate for those seated on a jury from $40 per day to $80 per day for the first five days of a trial.
The rate moves to $90 per day on the sixth day of a trial.
Counties around the state have started making adjustments to pay the extra money.
To do so, court filing fees have increased slightly.
The new law requires defendants in criminal cases to pay $6, up from $2.
Civil court case filing fees have also climbed.
Sitting on a bench outside the Hendricks County courthouse, Steve Eldridge explains his experience, serving as a juror in a domestic violence case, involving a woman arrested at a Plainfield motel.
"I think it's an honor to help out when we can and do our duty," Eldridge said.
Eldridge served on the jury long before the new juror compensation rate law took effect.
He only took home $40/day at the time.
"Maybe it should have been more," Eldridge said. "I'm not sure what would be reasonable amount. But it could be a little more than that."
Hendricks County started paying its jurors the new compensation rate immediately after House Bill 1466 became law in July, drawing funding primarily from the general fund, which is taxpayer dollars, according to the Hendricks County court administrator.
In Marion County, Margaret Wilson recalls the several days she served as a juror on a murder case in 2018, involving two minors who were being charged as adults in a joint trial.
"So, it was a pretty intense case," Wilson said. "But this one, along with the time responsibility, did become a stress mentally as well."
Wilson explains she had to listen to so much testimony, jot down notes, and finally deliberate after the closing arguments over the course of four days.
She and her fellow jurors only made $40 per day hearing that emotional and mentally-taxing case.
"That fee was so insignificant and nominal, compared to what we actually went through and what the process stands for," Wilson said.
Madison County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Andrew Hanna is a member of the "Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council," an organization, made up of prosecutors in more than 90 counties around the state, that endorsed this compensation rate adjustment.
Hanna points out the goal of the jury process is to seat a fair cross-section of the community.
"In order to do that," Hanna said. "Everyone from whatever their economic situation is, should be able to be seated on that jury. And unfortunately, when you aren't compensating jurors at a high enough rate, the people that really has an impact on, are the people on the lower income thresholds."
The new law aims to alleviate an obstacle many judges previously faced to seat complete juries, when so many potential jurors cited financial hardship as a reason they could not fulfill their civic duty.
Prosecutor Hanna says $80 per day is just a step in the right direction.
"I think ultimately at the end of the day," Hanna said. "It's still not enough to accurately convey the seriousness of that role and to show people the appreciation of the community for their time and their efforts."
When time is money, Wilson recalls the tone of the jury on which she served, when it came time to deliberate after the four days of testimony and mulling over evidence.
"Given how long we were going that night, deliberating, people are just tired and ready to go home. We couldn't have our cellphones to contact family. So, again, with all of that going on, I think people were ready to [just make a decision now] and call it a night. It's not worth it for any of us to stay longer here."
By law, employers cannot stand in the way of their workers doing jury duty, although the law does not mandate employers pay their employees during that missed work time.
Many companies, however, pay their employees during jury duty anyway.
On the other hand, some jurors told WRTV they were required to sign over their jury duty paycheck to their bosses.
