Alameda County jurors to get big bump in pay
OAKLAND, CA - MAY13: The Alameda County Superior Courthouse is seen in Oakland, Calif., on Thursday, May 13, 2021. (Jane Tyska/Digital First Media/East Bay Times via Getty Images)
OAKLAND, Calif. - We all know that one of the reasons many people opt out of jury service is time away from work and the lack of pay that comes with it.
This week, the Alameda County Superior Court announced welcome news to address that.
Jurors will begin receiving $100 a day and .67 cents per mile for travel to and from the courthouse beginning the second day of jury service after Sept. 2.
That's up from the current $15 a day and .34 cents a mile.
Those who ride public transportation can receive up to an additional $12 a day as reimbursement.
This pay bump is part of a new, state-funded pilot program created to determine if increased financial benefits will result in increased participation and diversity of juries. The National Center for State Courts will conduct the research.
The Superior Court of Alameda County is one of seven superior courts participating in the pilot program. The other courts are the Superior Courts of El Dorado, Fresno, Imperial, Monterey, San Bernardino and Shasta counties. The program is being funded by California’s General Fund.
The NCSC has been surveying Alameda County jurors for the last two months and will continue to track jurors’ demographic information and participation levels to determine what impact the pilot has on jury service.
The Jury Pilot Program will continue for two years or until the approximately $27 million set aside for the program is exhausted.
The Jury Pilot Program was created as part of AB1981 which was passed by the state Legislature and signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2022.
Last year, bill author Phil Ting (D-San Francisco) along with San Francisco Public Defender Mano Raju, San Francisco Treasurer José Cisneros, San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins and Alameda County Public Defender Brendon Woods, who advocated for this higher pay so that Californians have better access to a more diverse jury of their peers.