‘Be the Jury’ aims to explore if demographics can be improved
Source: San Francisco Examiner / Bay City News
San Francisco officials on Tuesday applauded a state bill recently signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom that would increase pay for low-income residents serving on jury duty.
Assembly Bill 1452, authored by Assemblymember Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, establishes the Be The Jury pilot program through a partnership with the San Francisco Superior Court, compensating low-income jurors on criminal trials with $100 per day of jury service.
Newsom signed the bill on Friday, and the program is likely to start in January.
The bill seeks to make juries more racially diverse by affording low-income people the opportunity to participate, as most jurors can either not afford to serve unpaid or are being paid during their service through their employer.