The new law provides higher compensation to jurors serving on a lengthy trial. The fund to pay the jurors will be financed through a small fee collected from every attorney filing a civil case.
Jurors will serve no more that one day, unless they are picked for a trial, and called for duty no more than once every two years. At the same time, the fine for not showing up for jury duty increases five- fold to a maximum of $500. Failure to show up is now a "Class 3 misdemeanor," with the potential for a prison sentence.
Protections for small businesses are part of the package. Only one employee from a small business will be asked to serve at any one time.
Arizona's legislation is modeled after the American Legislative Exchange Council's Jury Patriotism Act. Before the Arizona legislature acted, only Utah had a law somewhat similar to the ALEC model. A comparable act is pending in Louisiana courts.
Passage of the new law "is a new thing and a good thing," says Gretchen Schaefer, of the American Tort Reform Association. She notes that before the law's passage, "you would get a trial not judged necessarily by your peers but a jury full of retired people."
