District of Columbia Juror Pay Parity Act
Summary
What This Bill Does
The District of Columbia Juror Pay Parity Act rewrites the compensation rule for grand and petit jurors serving in the D.C. Superior Court. Their fees and expenses must be paid at rates equivalent to the fees and allowances provided to grand and petit jurors appearing in federal district courts under 28 U.S.C. 1871.
Using the federal statute as the benchmark makes District compensation rise or fall with the applicable federal rates without Congress having to restate a dollar amount in the D.C. Code. The bill also repeals D.C. Code section 15-718, removing the separate existing provision from the payment framework.
The amendments apply to fees and expenses paid on or after the first day of the first fiscal year beginning after enactment. They do not change who is qualified or summoned for jury service, guarantee compensation for wages an employer withholds, alter verdict rules, set a standalone dollar amount, or expressly appropriate the funds required for higher payments.
Who Benefits and How
D.C. Superior Court grand and petit jurors receive compensation parity with federal district-court jurors. Low-income jurors and workers without paid jury leave may face less financial hardship, improving their ability to complete service. Litigants and the court may benefit from a broader, more stable jury pool with fewer hardship-based absences.
Who Bears the Burden and How
D.C. court accounts must pay the equivalent fees and expenses, potentially increasing annual costs. Court finance staff must update payroll systems, track changes to the federal benchmark, and transition away from the repealed provision. District budget officials must fund the obligation, while taxpayers bear any net increase. Employers remain responsible for their own leave policies because the bill does not require wage continuation.
Key Provisions
- Requires federal-rate parity for D.C. Superior Court grand jurors.
- Requires federal-rate parity for D.C. Superior Court petit jurors.
- Expands covered compensation to equivalent fees and expenses.
- Uses 28 U.S.C. 1871 as the continuing benchmark.
- Repeals the separate D.C. Code section 15-718 provision.
- Delays application until the next fiscal year begins.
- Provides no independent wage-replacement mandate for employers.
- Provides no express appropriation for the added court cost.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Requires grand and petit jurors serving in the District of Columbia Superior Court to receive fees and expenses equivalent to federal district-court juror rates, repeals the existing District payment provision, and applies the parity rule beginning with the next fiscal year.
Key Policy Areas
Jury Compensation, District of Columbia Courts, Federal Pay Parity, Court Administration, Access to Jury Service
Primary Purpose
Requires grand and petit jurors serving in the District of Columbia Superior Court to receive fees and expenses equivalent to federal district-court juror rates, repeals the existing District payment provision, and applies the parity rule beginning with the next fiscal year.
Policy Domains
Section 2 federal-rate parity for D.C. Superior Court jurors
Identified Gains
- D.C. Superior Court grand jurors
- D.C. Superior Court petit jurors
- Low-income jurors facing service costs
- Workers lacking paid jury leave
- Litigants relying on representative juries
- Court officials reducing hardship absences
Identified Costs
- D.C. Courts compensation accounts
- Court finance staff updating payment systems
- District budget officials funding juror pay
- District taxpayers financing higher fees
- Court administrators tracking federal rates
- Employers maintaining separate leave policies
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeReferred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
Introduced in House
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR E198)
Ms. Norton introduced the following bill; which was referred to …
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Court finance-system staff, Court staff tracking federal rates, D.C. Courts compensation accounts
D.C. Superior Court grand jurors, D.C. Superior Court petit jurors, Litigants relying on representative juries
District taxpayers, Low-income jurors
Positive-direction: Low-income jurors
Negative-direction: District taxpayers
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "benchmark"
- → Federal district-court juror compensation schedule
- "grand_juror"
- → Grand juror serving in D.C. Superior Court
- "petit_juror"
- → Petit juror serving in D.C. Superior Court
- "administrator"
- → D.C. Courts official paying juror compensation
- "budget_official"
- → District official funding court operations
Note: {'scope_ids': ['dc_superior_court_juror_pay'], 'description': 'The bill changes juror fees and expenses, not jury eligibility, employer leave, verdict rules, or court jurisdiction; it mandates parity through a federal benchmark but contains no express appropriation.'}
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
A grand or petit juror serving in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.
The first fiscal year beginning after enactment, from whose first day the parity rule applies to paid fees and expenses.
Fees and expenses equal to the rates provided for federal district-court grand and petit jurors under 28 U.S.C. 1871.
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology