Big criminal court cases usually underscore why it’s important for anyone convicted of a crime to have a jury of their peers in the courtroom. But so many people avoid jury duty like the plague. The summons arrives in the mail, and they start thinking of which excuse will get them out of it. I’ve heard them all: It’s inconvenient. It’s too far, I can’t miss work, I don’t understand English well enough. It wasn’t until my recent summons that I started to understand why registered voters opt out.
I guess I’m in the minority. When I receive that summons, I put the date in my calendar, show up on time and hope I get selected, though it has never happened.
Last month, I set my alarm for 6 a.m., hit the freeway to avoid traffic by 7 a.m., parked on the outskirts of downtown (to avoid paying $20-$30 in a nearby public lot) and power-walked over 2 miles to the courthouse. I made it just in time.
Dozens of us filed through security at the Superior Court building and made our way to the jury lounge. I looked around and realized I was not prepared. Other jurors brought books, magazines, laptops, water bottles and snacks. I had nothing but my phone and my charger.
Once the county worker started giving us instructions, I knew it was going to be a long wait. She announced there was a special log-in sheet for those with Apple devices in order to be able to sign on to Wi-Fi. I tried it twice and failed. I asked two younger-looking jurors, hoping it was just me who was technologically challenged, but they both admitted they tried several times too, and just gave up. So there we were, several hundred of us, many with iPhones, and no Wi-Fi.
The potential jurors were asked to watch a video explaining exactly what jury duty is about. The video explained that jurors are paid $17 for each day of service. If selected for an actual trial that lasted longer, it would be up to a juror’s employer as to whether the juror would be paid or not. Who can afford that? I thought to myself: How many people on that day were willing to use vacation or sick days to serve?
A very nice judge who covers criminal cases addressed us. She stressed the importance of jury duty and thanked us for our service.
As the clock ticked, I realized everything about this setup was not convenient for most of us.
I recalled several years ago receiving a summons with a phone number on it. It allowed jurors to phone in the night before. A recording would reveal whether or not you had to show up in person the next day. This year, the summons didn’t include that option. Nor did it tell me I could have phoned in to request a change of venue to a court closer to home.
The county worker also handed out bus cards for a free ride back home. But time is money. And getting downtown for many potential jurors is not easy or cheap. For those like me who didn’t bring food, snacks in the courthouse cafe had limited healthy choices and comes with another out-of-pocket expense. Nearby restaurants in downtown are rather costly these days.
For those who did take public transportation, they paid the one-way fare, and took the time to make the commute, and got a free ride home.
While there did appear to be a good mix of gender, age and ethnicity among potential jurors, but even if students were selected, most probably can’t serve during the school year. They can’t miss classes.
Retirees and teachers off on summer break appear to be the groups which are most available. But if that is our jury pool is that really considered a jury of our peers?
If that were your daughter, son, sibling or parent in the defendant’s chair, is that the pool you’d want?
But perhaps in order to encourage more participation there needs to be an overhaul of the current system. State lawmakers should consider increasing jury pay, providing free parking and making it mandatory for companies to pay employees for all days of jury service. Green card holders can’t serve on juries. But naturalized citizens can. Maybe it’s time to think about allowing green card holders to join the pool too.
Only then is it much more likely that that defendants are getting a real jury of their peers.
Castañeda is a deputy editor in the Opinion section at The San Diego Union-Tribune and lives in Chula Vista.
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