Mom, I Don't Want to Go!-- How Courts Take Care of Parents Serving Jury Duty

A childcare center at a DC courthouse. Source: DCcourts.gov

As a few of my classmates have noted over the course of this semester, the diversity of our nation's jury pools is consistently an issue for concern amongst scholars and the trial lawyers who are at the mercy of the jury's judgments. Of course, the diversity of the jury is largely dependent on who shows up to jury duty in the first place, and attendance at jury duty can be the result of many factors. Reluctance to miss work is one. Although many states and the federal government compensate jurors, they're not required to. California, for example, doesn't pay at all for the first day, and if you're lucky enough to sit on a jury, you'll only get $15 dollars per day thereafter. Another potentially overlooked reason is a lack of appropriate childcare; for parents who are the primary caretaker of a small child, these paltry juror compensation rates are hardly enough to make showing up worthwhile.

Two Not-So-Great Options

In the United States, there are primarily two ways that courts assist parents who are called for jury duty and would like to (or must) serve--by providing childcare at the courthouse or by reimbursing costs associated with obtaining childcare. The latter is certainly less common and perhaps even less helpful. For instance, Minnesota courts allow reimbursement of up to 50 dollars a day for childcare expenses associated with serving as a juror. Although it seems generous in comparison to what other courts offer (which if often nothing at all), it works out to about $6.25 an hour if the juror serves for a full day. That's hardly the going rate for a decent babysitter or caregiver these days, and that does not take into account the fact that this is be a reimbursement and not an up-front stipend.

Some courts, however, offer childcare centers within the courthouse for parents to utilize while they’re at jury duty. Washington DC, for example, has a center that provides childcare for any adult who is visiting the court, including jurors. The childcare center is staffed full time with certified aides that must meet minimum requirements. But while these kinds of childcare centers are certainly convenient, it's hard to see how this option is more appealing to parents than just staying home. These childcare centers are essentially waiting rooms for small children while their parents are in court-- in fact, some states actually call them waiting rooms instead of day cares or childcare centers! It's not hard to see, then, why parents often choose to try to get excused instead.

Excuses, Excuses

Of course, most states have exemptions built into their juror guidelines that allow for full-time parents to avoid or at least defer their service. These states usually require some kind of proof of the particular circumstances, and while excuses are often granted, that's not always the case. New York, for instance, states on their juror website that there are no automatic exemptions or disqualifications, and that "excuses are rarely granted." And recently in California, a state judge skeptically questioned a stay at home mother who appeared at jury duty and asked to be excused because she didn't have  substitute childcare. Although the mother ended up being excused for the day, she was warned it wasn't a complete exemption--she'd have to return in a few months to perform her civic duty.

So What Should We Do?

It's clear these current alternatives don't really cut it when it comes to providing viable options for parents--either working or stay-at-home-- to arrange childcare when serving jury duty. But a truly helpful alternative will be difficult to find. It's unlikely that state and local governments will be willing to foot the bill for even a day of expensive outside childcare, and probably equally unlikely that parents will want to use the court childcare facilities, even just for a day. Unfortunately, the most likely scenario at least in the immediate future is that these jurors will continue to try to stay home, depriving the jury pool of a valuable point of view in the process.