Monday proved to be a pleasant morning for those appearing for jury duty in the 258th District Court. It was Jury Appreciation Day and the entire judicial center took part in welcoming and serving the jurors.
Those showing up for jury duty were treated to breakfast provided by local eateries and numerous gift cards were given away as door prizes throughout the morning.
“Thank you to our local attorneys for sponsoring the gift card giveaway, our local eateries for amazing food, and all of the judges, county clerk, the district attorney’s office, coordinators, treasurer, courthouse security and all of the staff that stepped up and served today. And a big thank you to my office for all the early morning prep and serving,” Polk County District Clerk Bobbye Christopher said.
“Jury service has been trending down. We’re doing better, but we’re still not over 10-12%. I think it’s apathy … priorities … they don’t consider it a priority,” Christopher said. “But if you are the person on trial, you would want a jury.”
And with Polk County being a retirement community, a lot of the population is exempt from jury service.
“I think people are responding better, at least one-third (of the jury summons) that go out are to Escapees, but if they’re in town, they are faithful to come,” Christopher said.
“We send out 1,100 every two weeks to get at least 100 people, but we have been getting 120-130 which is trending upward a little bit. Now that COVID’s over, we’re seeing more, but we still don’t have a good cross section of the county,” Christopher said.
“In recent years, the local attorneys have donated money and we have bought gift cards from local eateries. The local attorneys want to show their appreciation, so we will feed them breakfast and have some giveaways,” Christopher said.
In Polk County, the jury summons – which are generated by computer – are pulled randomly.
Last October, the Polk County District Clerk’s Office hosted its first ever pumpkin decorating contest in an attempt to build morale. Various departments in the judicial center competed against each other and the jurors that day had the opportunity to serve as the judges for the contest.
The good news for potential jurors is that House Bill 3474, which was passed on June 13, 2023 during the 88th session of the Texas Legislature and became effective Sept. 1, 2023, more than tripled the minimum payment for the first day of jury duty from $6 to $20. This is significant because most people are discharged after the first day when they’re not selected or cases get settled. For those impaneled to serve for a trial, jury pay was raised from $40 per day to $58 per day. The law also extended the age of exemption from jury service from 70 to 75, and allows anyone over age 75 to receive a permanent exemption from jury duty.
Jury service is a civic duty. A jury decides the facts of a case in accordance with principles of the law as explained by a judge. Jurors listen to testimony, review evidence, and render decisions in civil and criminal trials.
The Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees the right to a trial by jury, but this is not possible if citizens are not willing to serve as jurors and decide the case of one of their peers.
Jury service is a privilege that offers the average citizen an unequaled opportunity to influence and deliberate over fundamental matters of justice. By performing this important civic duty, jurors help ensure fairness and excellence in the administration of justice by federal and state courts.
Additionally, those that serve on a jury have the opportunity to learn a great deal about the legal system and about the particular subject matter of the trial.
Qualifications for jury service include: must reside in the county of jury service; must be qualified to vote in the county of jury service, even if you are not registered to vote; must be able to read and write; and must be of sound mind and good moral character.
You may be exempt from jury service if you: are over 75 years of age; have legal custody of a child or children under twelve 12 years of age and serving jury duty would necessitate leaving this child or children without adequate supervision; attend high school or are enrolled in college, attending full-time; are an officer or employee of the legislative branch of state government; are the primary caretaker of a person who is an invalid; impaneled as a petit juror within the past six months; or have a medical condition which prevents you from serving.
While people like Christopher and the local attorneys are working hard to increase participation, unfortunately, the criminal element see this as an opportunity to scam people.
The State Bar of Texas Jury Service Committee, as well as local law enforcement, are warning the public against criminals that would seek to make them victims of scams that are becoming increasingly common. The way the scam works is that individuals pretending to be local law enforcement officers call citizens, stating that they have failed to appear for jury duty or some other court proceeding. These individuals go on to claim that a warrant has been issued for the citizen’s arrest and/or a large sum of money is owed as a fine for failing to appear. This is not true, however, and local law enforcement does not call people who do not show up for jury duty.
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