Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse of Central Texas

By State Sen. Jeff Wentworth and Fred Heldenfels IV
January 1, 2006

Inconvenient. Can’t afford it. Too busy. Boss won’t give me time off from work.

A summons for jury duty -- the invitation to participate in a cornerstone of democracy that people in most countries can only dream about – too often inspires only excuses.

Studies have found that one of the greatest barriers to serving on a jury is economic. People simply can’t afford to take time off work – in many cases without pay – for the grand sum of $6 per day. That doesn’t pay for courthouse parking and a sandwich for lunch, much less make a dent in the monthly rent or utility bill.

But Texas lawmakers are offering a helping hand. On Jan. 1, a new law, Senate Bill 1704, increased juror pay from $6 to a minimum of $40 per day after the first day of service – a 500-plus percent increase. The new provision, long recommended by the Texas Supreme Court and various legal organizations, should take some of the economic sting out of jury service.

Too busy? Most of us have many demands on our time, and that’s showing up in declining jury participation. In Texas’ largest counties, almost three-fourths of all those called for jury service simply don’t show up.

Yet our highest elected leaders have found time to serve.

Recently, President Bush said he intends to answer a jury summons from McLennan County, where his Crawford ranch is located. And Texas Governor Rick Perry reported to the Travis County courthouse in 2002 when called for a municipal trial.

Their willingness to serve despite many pressing demands highlights the importance of citizen participation in preserving the rule of law in our democratic system. They recognize that our judicial system will not work if the jury box is empty.

Our founders treasured the jury trial, along with voting, as the two great pillars of citizen control over government. Jefferson described the system as “the only anchor ever yet imagined by man by which a government can be held to the principles of its constitution.” In the 19th century, de Toqueville observed: “The institution of the jury . . . places the real direction of society in the hands of the governed . . . and not that of the government.”

The Texas Constitution has two separate guarantees of the right to a jury trial. Texas jurors decide not only guilt or innocence, but assess punishment as well. They decide more types of civil disputes than jurors in most states. If your life and property were at stake, you’d want the best possible jury, not just the best that could be obtained among the one in four citizens who bothered to show up.

We talk a lot about how to get and keep good judges in Texas, but good juries are just as important. When large numbers of people avoid jury service, we all suffer. Obviously, the plaintiffs and defendants in a particular lawsuit need good jurors. But the entire public depends on a strong, honest jury pool to render verdicts that keep us safe, secure and prosperous.

At a time when our soldiers are risking their lives in foreign lands, the least we can do for our country is to sacrifice a little time and money to keep our justice system strong. Let’s each resolve to make answering the call to jury service a New Year’s resolutions for 2006.

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Texas State Senator Jeff Wentworth (R-San Antonio) represents Senate District 25 and is the co-author of Senate Bill 1704. He is serving his fifth term in the Texas Senate where he is chairman of the Senate Committee on Jurisprudence. Fred Heldenfels IV president and CEO of Heldenfels Enterprises Inc. and a member of the board of directors of Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse of Central Texas.