SF’s Increased Juror Pay Program Increased Diversity on Juries
This looks like a solid step in the right direction.
San Francisco City Hall from east end of Civic Center Plaza. (Photo courtesy Wikipedia)
In March 2022, the San Francisco Treasurer’s Financial Justice Project, in partnership with the San Francisco Superior Court, Public Defender’s Office, District Attorney’s Office, and Bar Association, launched “Be The Jury.” This first-of-its-kind pilot program in San Francisco increases the daily juror stipend from $15 per day to $100 per day for low- to moderate-income San Franciscans who are summoned to serve on juries but cannot serve because they would face financial hardship.
Since then, over 1,000 San Franciscans have participated in the Be The Jury program, and today the San Francisco Financial Justice Project released the results of a one-year evaluation of the program, which shows that the program has a sustained impact on increasing economic and racial diversity in jury pools in San Francisco.
The one-year evaluation of Be The Jury highlights these promising results:
- The vast majority of Be The Jury participants could not have served without the $100 per day stipend. Eighty-four percent of participants said they were able to serve as a result of the $100 compensation. In particular, 91 percent of Black participants said the stipend made it possible for them to serve.
- Program participants reflect the racial demographics of the broader San Francisco population. Sixty percent of participants self-identified as people of color.
- Be The Jury participants made up a meaningful number of jurors serving on criminal trials. Nine percent of jurors serving on criminal trials in San Francisco were Be The Jury participants.
- Be The Jury participants had low incomes, demonstrating that the program successfully removed financial hardship barriers to serving. The median household income of participants was $38,000. The area median household income in San Francisco is $121,826.
- Feedback from program participants has been overwhelmingly positive. Interviews with participants found that jurors had a positive shift in attitude towards jury service and the judicial system. 95 percent of participants completed a voluntary survey.
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“No one should have to decide between making ends meet or fulfilling their civic duty,” said San Francisco Treasurer José Cisneros. “The Be The Jury program results make it clear that paying people to serve on juries is a necessary step towards upholding our constitutional right to a trial by peers.”
“Be The Jury is delivering on the promise of fair jury trials by empowering community members from diverse backgrounds to participate in jury service,” said San Francisco Public Defender Mano Raju. “Our pilot program has shown that with increased compensation, we can make it possible for many more people to serve on a jury to carry out this crucial civic right and duty.”
“Congratulations to the Be The Jury Pilot Program on its one-year milestone. A lot has been learned in a year: money is a barrier to diverse and low-income residents and our San Francisco jury pools became more diverse and mirrored the ethnicity and gender demographics in San Francisco once financial hurdles were removed for potential jury participants,” said Yolanda Jackson, Executive Director and General Counsel of the Bar Association of San Francisco. “Potential jurors should not have to decide between serving their civic duty and having enough money to take care of their families. I am thrilled at the possibility of this program going statewide.”
This information came from the Office of the Treasurer & Tax Collector: Have questions? Find them here.
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