Personally, in this overworked and underpaid society, I think the courts should run jury trials only on evenings and weekends. Paying some poor slob $5 a day to miss work is unconscionable. The government pays people thousands of dollars a month to do nothing, the least they could do is try to accomodate the needs of working people who are submitting themselves to involuntary service.
Just do the jury trials Monday through Friday from 5:30 to 9:30 and all day Saturday amd Sunday. Then maybe people would not be so reluctant to serve.
“...Then maybe people would not be so reluctant to serve.”
Perhaps keep the bad guys in jail long enough for them to learn not to be criminals, so jurors don’t feel like they’re putting the same people in jail over and over again.
Every time I see that MSNBC show “Lockup,” I get the feeling that civilization has failed those people (and us) somehow.
The lawyers should contribute a portion of their earnings from the trial to the Jury Pool.