For Immediate Release: August 27, 2024
Media Contact:
SF Public Defender’s Office | PDR-MediaRelations@sfgov.org
SF Treasurer’s Office I Amanda Fried | amanda.fried@sfgov.org | (415) 554-0889
** PRESS RELEASE **
Successful SF ‘Be The Jury’ Program Receives $650K in State Funding
Asm. Phil Ting (D-San Francisco) secures state funding for 2024-2025 Fiscal Year for a proven program that increases racial and economic diversity of jury pools; Be The Jury pays low- to moderate-income San Francisco jurors $100 per day.
SAN FRANCISCO — This month, San Francisco received $650,000 in critical funding from the State of California that ensures the continuation of the city’s Be The Jury program, which increases juror pay from $15 to $100 a day for low- to moderate-income jurors. Assemblymember Phil Ting successfully championed the funding in Sacramento, and the San Francisco’s Treasurer’s Office, Public Defender’s Office, SF Bar Association, and District Attorney’s Office also advocated for it. This infusion of resources will fund San Francisco’s Be The Jury program for the 2024-2025 fiscal year. Local stakeholders will continue to advocate for permanent funding and statewide adoption of Be The Jury.
“I’m thrilled we were able to secure state funding to ensure that higher jury pay for lower-income San Franciscans can carry on for another year,” said Assemblymember Phil Ting (D-San Francisco), whose 2021 legislation, AB 1452, authorized the City’s Be The Jury Pilot Program. “Higher jury pay does, in fact, diversify juries. When juries are more reflective of the communities they serve, they spend more time in deliberations and are less likely to presume guilt. Multiple perspectives weighing in helps defendants get a fair trial.”
“In our country’s history, laws barred certain communities from serving on juries,” said San Francisco Mayor London Breed. “Be The Jury is groundbreaking because even when those discriminatory laws changed, low-income jurors—many being Black, Asian, Latino—struggled to be able to serve because they couldn’t give up their wages. I am glad that our state legislators are partnering with our city to continue this type of smart, innovative change that will create a more equitable and fair criminal justice system.”
“No one should have to decide between making ends meet or fulfilling their civic duty,” said San Francisco Treasurer José Cisneros. “The Be The Jury program results make it clear that paying people to serve on juries is a necessary step towards upholding our constitutional right to a trial by peers. Thank you, Asm. Ting, for ensuring that this program can continue.”
“Be The Jury helps deliver on the promise of basic fairness in our criminal legal system because it empowers community members from diverse backgrounds to apply their own life experiences when evaluating evidence and the credibility of witnesses,” said San Francisco Public Defender Mano Raju. “This state investment is an important step in allowing this program to continue and hopefully to grow.”
“The Be The Jury program has empowered hundreds of low-income San Franciscans to do their civic duty, allowing individuals to administer justice for the diverse communities they represent, making the criminal justice system fairer,” said San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins. “I hope that the State and City can continue to partner so that this program can continue over the long term.”
“Potential jurors should not have to decide between serving their civic duty and having enough money to take care of their families,” said Yolanda Jackson, Executive Director and General Counsel of the Bar Association of San Francisco. “I am grateful to all our City and State partners who have made it possible to continue this program.”
Be The Jury: A Proven Success
Since it began in March 2022, nearly 2,700 San Franciscans have participated in the Be The Jury program. This first-of-its-kind program was designed to test whether removing the financial hardship that prevents many potential jurors from serving could foster juries that reflect a more balanced cross-section of San Francisco residents. An in-depth report on the program’s first year demonstrated that the program has significantly increased economic and racial diversity in San Francisco jury pools. The Be The Jury program has received high praise from its participants, and has been featured in the documentary film “Judging Juries” as well as in the New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, KQED, the San Francisco Standard, and Law360.
Jury duty is arguably one of the most meaningful opportunities for true civic engagement that our government offers. However, due to financial constraints, many prospective jurors—often those from the neighborhoods most impacted by the criminal legal system—are deprived of the opportunity to serve because they cannot afford to take time off of work or pay for child care when the standard juror pay in San Francisco is only $15 a day. This funding infusion for the Be The Jury program ensures that the city can continue to create a more fair and just criminal justice system.
The Be The Jury program compensates jurors with low-to-moderate incomes with $100 per day for jury service in criminal trials. Jurors are eligible if their household income is less than 80% of the Area Median Income ($80,700 for a single person; $115,300 for a household of four) and if they meet one of the following criteria: (1) their employer does not compensate for jury service; (2) their employer does not compensate for the estimated duration of jury service; (3) they are self-employed; or (4) they are unemployed. For more information, see here.
##