This is a terrible idea. It would make absolutely certain that juries consisted of people with nothing better to do - who are not likely to be your "peers".
Thought experiment for all Freepers who live in an urban area: If jury duty were a form of welfare, what kind of jury do you think you would encounter if you were ever to go to court?
I do see your point- I just think the present system is wrong, and to your argument that it might produce a bad system I say: Look at the current system- can it be worse than this?
I can't afford to take off for potentially weeks or months for a tiral- so I could never be a juror- but I would sign up to be considered for 'paid' service...
I think the cost would be less than all the wasted time and money in the current system, result in speedier trials, and the result would be no worse than the current system (hopefully better)
I am open to other suggestions...