Increasing the Incentive to Serve: The Effects of a Juror Pay Increase in Texas

Although low juror pay is commonly offered as a reason why jurors do not show up to jury service, there is remarkably little empirical information on how juror pay affects summons response. This study examines four large-sized counties in Texas before and after pay increased from as little as $6 a day to $40, analyzing patterns of the percent of available jurors and non-response ("no show") across time. Although there was, on average, a larger percentage of available jurors in the years following the pay raise compared to those preceding it, there is little evidence that this increase is attributable to the change in pay, particularly given a trend of having more available jurors that pre-existed the raise. Additionally, summons response does not appear sensitive to over-time inflationary pressures. Results suggest that pay may not be the best place to focus attention if the goal is to generate an overall higher summons response rate, although states should ensure that rates are not insultingly low, and we encourage more work on whether targeted increases for low-income persons have an effect on that population.