Jury Service Reform: HB 2520 (2003)

| November 4, 2016

Requires all people to serve on juries unless they experience

Requires all people to serve on juries unless they experience undue or extreme physical or financial hardship. Establishes a lengthy trial fund from a modest filing fee to compensate jurors a minimum of $40 and a maximum of $300 per juror, per day for trials lasting more than 10 days, starting on the eleventh day of trial. In such circumstances, jurors would also be eligible to retroactively collect at least $40 but not more than $100 per day from the fourth day to the tenth day of service. Provides for employee protection by prohibiting an employer to require an employee to use annual or sick leave for the time spent in the jury service process. In addition, it prohibits employers to dismiss or in any other way penalize employees for responding to a jury service summons. Provides for protection of small business owners by requiring the court to postpone the service of an employee if another employee of that business is already serving on a jury. Allows for one automatic postponement from service. Provides for jurors to serve no more than one day unless selected to serve on a trial. Provides that a willful failure to appear for jury duty is a Class 3 misdemeanor.