Juror pay to double starting next week

Pay and mileage reimbursement for jurors in the state are scheduled to double starting next week.

Jurors called on or after July 5 will now be paid $20 for each day of jury duty. They'll also receive 54 cents per mile for the trip to the courthouse and back, in addition to compensation for child care costs that were already available.

The extra pay will be covered by an additional $1.5 million in yearly funding that was passed by the Minnesota Legislature and approved by Gov. Mark Dayton on June 1.

Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Lorie S. Gildea said in a statement that she's grateful that legislators and the governor are helping to send a message that the state values the crucial role jurors play in the courts.

"While we know that the small amount jurors receive for their service doesn't reflect the importance of their work, we hope that this higher compensation will make it a little easier for citizens to participate in their justice system," Gildea said.

More than 44,000 Minnesotans were called to jury duty last year, according to the Minnesota Judicial Branch.

The increases put Minnesota squarely in the middle of the pack for juror compensation. Some states, like Georgia, offer compensation as low as $5 per day, according to the National Center for State Courts. But states like West Virginia still provide much more compensation than Minnesota, with jurors receiving $40 a day.