The Court has received a number of letters and calls in response to the creation of a new juror scofflaw court to begin in October 2003. The jury scofflaw court will bring in jurors who intentionally disregard jury summons to show cause why they should not face fines of up to $500. This article will respond to many of the letters we have received.

Who brings in jurors? In Maricopa County, there are four distinct courts that use jurors: the federal courts, the Superior Court, the Justice of the Peace courts and the Municipal courts. You can be asked to come in as a juror for any one of these courts. Municipal courts and justice courts just call jurors within their city boundaries or precinct boundaries. If you serve as a juror in one of these courts, they may excuse you from further service for a specified period of time, but you may then be called in by another one of the courts. For example, if you are brought in as a juror for the City of Phoenix, that jury service does not excuse you from being called in by the federal court or the Superior Court.

How are jurors chosen? The Constitution requires that juries constitute a fair cross-section of the community. To accomplish this, jurors are chosen by random selection. The pool of jurors consists of all persons over 18 who either have a driver’s license or who are registered to vote. From these lists, a computer using a random number generator software program picks the jury lists. Although randomness insures a fair cross-section of the community, it can result in instances where you may be called two times in two years and your neighbor is not. This is the price we pay for the Constitution. Citizens cannot volunteer for jury service or otherwise self-select themselves as it would create unfair cross-section issues as to the jury panel.

That is also why a summons to appear for jury service needs to be treated the same as a court order. It is legally binding.

How long do I serve? The Arizona Supreme Court has directed all courts in the state to go to a one day, one trial jury system. Many of the courts in Maricopa County already do this. Under this system, a juror is called to court for only one day. If you are not selected that day for a jury, your service is over. If you are selected, you serve for the number of days the trial will take. Most Municipal Court and Justice Court trials are started and completed in one day. In federal and Superior courts, although there may be a trial that lasts one day, most last 3-5 days. In Superior Court, when a trial will last longer than 10 days, most judges will prescreen the panel so only jurors who can sit for longer periods will be sent to the courtroom.

How are trial jurors selected? In all cases, a panel of jurors is sent to the courtroom that is larger than the number needed for trial, which is generally eight to 12 jurors. A larger number is sent for three reasons. First, the judge will inquire whether jury service on that case will be a hardship for jurors. If so, the juror may be excused. For example, jurors are generally excused if service will create an economic hardship or the juror has small children or elderly parents to care for. The judge makes this decision on a case-by-case basis. Second, the judge and counsel will inquire whether there is anything about the case that would make it difficult for a juror to be fair and impartial. For example, I had a condemnation of land case where a juror whose farm was condemned in Nebraska for a freeway asked to be excused because the juror thought he could not be fair to the state.

Finally, each side in a case is given a certain number of preemptory challenges; these are challenges where a lawyer can excuse a juror for no cause at all. Although these types of challenges have been criticized for interjecting gamesmanship into the selection and justice process, preemptory challenges are currently a right that each side has.

How much will I be paid? Not much. Jury fees are set by Arizona law. On the first day, most jurors are paid based on round-trip mileage. In most cases, jurors who sit on a trial panel are paid only $12 per day plus mileage. Some Municipal courts pay more; for example, Peoria pays $50 per day.

The Supreme Court has tried for years without success to increase juror pay at the Legislature. Increasing juror pay is expensive, however, and the state and county budgets simply do not have the funds to pay for it. Last year, the Legislature amended the statutes to allow for higher pay in cases that last 10 days or more. After 10 days of trial, the judge can authorize up to $300 a day depending upon the economic circumstances of the juror. This will be paid for by a new statewide filing fee. Very few cases last this long; those that do are generally death penalty cases.

Do the judges care about comfort and convenience? Yes. Most jurisdictions have built comfortable jury rooms. For example, the City of Phoenix has a comfortable jury room with movies, free doughnuts and coffee. When possible, most jurisdictions try to provide free or reduced-fee parking and even give free bus passes. All judges are trained to not keep jurors waiting and to manage cases to avoid jury inconvenience.

Court trials are not like building widgets, however, and from time to time legal issues need to be decided that may delay a trial.

Judges and court staff will do everything they can to reduce those delays. They will communicate to jurors when delays must occur, which although may seem inconvenient, may result in savings of, and greater efficiency with, your tax dollars, as well as more effective justice overall. We try every day, in every court, to make the jury experience a pleasant one. And if we fall short of your expectations, please let court staff or a judge know. This system of justice, your system of justice, will not work as effectively without your participation as a citizen of this great state.

Do we really need to do this? The federal and state constitutions both provide the right to jury trial in both civil and criminal cases. From a judge’s point of view, it is why we can call ourselves a citizen government. This type of government cannot exist without citizen participation. Britain has done away with jury trials in civil cases; only judges decide these cases. If we as citizens do not want this type of citizen government, then we need to rethink the jury system at a constitutional level.

Colin F. Campbell is a presiding judge in Maricopa County Superior Court.