As Amended
SEC. 25-7-61. Jurors; Lengthy Trial Fund.
[Effective until January 1, 2007 this section shall read as follows:]
(1) Fees of jurors shall be payable as follows:
(a) Grand jurors and petit jurors in the chancery, county, circuit and special eminent domain courts shall be paid an amount to be set by the board of supervisors, not to be less than Twenty-five Dollars ($25.00) per day and not to be greater than Forty Dollars ($40.00) per day, plus mileage authorized in Section 25-3-41. In the trial of all cases where jurors are in charge of bailiffs and are not permitted to separate, the sheriff with the approval of the trial judge may pay for room and board of jurors on panel for actual time of trial.
No grand juror shall receive any compensation except mileage unless he shall have been sworn as provided by Section 13-5-45; and no petit juror except those jurors called on special venires shall receive any compensation authorized under this subsection except mileage unless he shall have been sworn as provided by Section 13-5-71.
(b) Jurors making inquisitions of idiocy, lunacy or of unsound mind and jurors on coroner's inquest shall be paid Five Dollars ($5.00) per day plus mileage authorized in Section 25-3-41 by the county treasurer on order of the board of supervisors on certificate of the clerk of the chancery court in which such inquisition is held.
(c) Jurors in the justice courts shall be paid an amount of not less than Ten Dollars ($10.00) per day and not more than Fifteen Dollars ($15.00) per day, to be established by the board of supervisors. In all criminal cases in the justice court wherein the prosecution fails, the fees of jurors shall be paid by the county treasurer on order of the board of supervisors on certificate of the county attorney in all counties that have county attorneys, otherwise by the justice court judge.
(2) Any juror may return the fees provided as compensation for service as a juror to the county which paid for such person's service as a juror. The fees returned to the county may be earmarked for a particular purpose to be selected by the juror, including:
(a) The local public library;
(b) Local law enforcement;
(c) The Mississippi Fire Fighters Memorial Burn Center fund created in Section 7-9-70, Mississippi Code of 1972; or
(d) Any other governmental agency.
[Effective from and after January 1, 2007 this section shall read as follows:]
(1) Fees of jurors shall be payable as follows:
(a) Grand jurors and petit jurors in the chancery, county, circuit and special eminent domain courts shall be paid an amount to be set by the board of supervisors, not to be less than Twenty-five Dollars ($25.00) per day and not to be greater than Forty Dollars ($40.00) per day, plus mileage authorized in Section 25-3-41. In the trial of all cases where jurors are in charge of bailiffs and are not permitted to separate, the sheriff with the approval of the trial judge may pay for room and board of jurors on panel for actual time of trial.
No grand juror shall receive any compensation except mileage unless he shall have been sworn as provided by Section 13-5-45; and no petit juror except those jurors called on special venires shall receive any compensation authorized under this subsection except mileage unless he shall have been sworn as provided by Section 13-5-71.
(b) Jurors making inquisitions of idiocy, lunacy or of unsound mind and jurors on coroner's inquest shall be paid Five Dollars ($5.00) per day plus mileage authorized in Section 25-3-41 by the county treasurer on order of the board of supervisors on certificate of the clerk of the chancery court in which such inquisition is held.
(c) Jurors in the justice courts shall be paid an amount of not less than Ten Dollars ($10.00) per day and not more than Fifteen Dollars ($15.00) per day, to be established by the board of supervisors. In all criminal cases in the justice court wherein the prosecution fails, the fees of jurors shall be paid by the county treasurer on order of the board of supervisors on certificate of the county attorney in all counties that have county attorneys, otherwise by the justice court judge.
(2) Any juror may return the fees provided as compensation for service as a juror to the county which paid for such person's service as a juror. The fees returned to the county may be earmarked for a particular purpose to be selected by the juror, including:
(a) The local public library;
(b) Local law enforcement;
(c) The Mississippi Fire Fighters Memorial Burn Center Fund created in Section 7-9-70, Mississippi Code of 1972; or
(d) Any other governmental agency.
(3) The Administrative Office of Courts shall promulgate rules to establish a Lengthy Trial Fund to be used to provide full or partial wage replacement or wage supplementation to jurors who serve as petit jurors in civil cases for more than ten (10) days.
(a) The court rules shall provide for the following:
(i) The selection and appointment of an administrator for the fund.
(ii) Procedures for the administration of the fund, including payments of salaries of the administrator and other necessary personnel.
(iii) Procedures for the accounting, auditing and investment of money in the Lengthy Trial Fund.
(iv) A report by the Administrative Office of Courts on the administration of the Lengthy Trial Fund in its annual report on the judicial branch, setting forth the money collected for and disbursed from the fund.
(b) The administrator shall use any monies deposited in the Lengthy Trial Fund to pay full or partial wage replacement or supplementation to jurors whose employers pay less than full regular wages when the period of jury service lasts more than ten (10) days.
(c) To the extent funds are available in the Lengthy Trial Fund, and in accordance with any rules or regulations promulgated by the Administrative Office of Courts, the court may pay replacement or supplemental wages out of the Lengthy Trial Fund not to exceed Three Hundred Dollars ($300.00) per day per juror beginning on the eleventh day of jury service. In addition, for any jurors who qualify for payment by virtue of having served on a jury for more than ten (10) days, the court, upon finding that such service posed a significant financial hardship to a juror, even in light of payments made with respect to jury service after the tenth day, may award replacement or supplemental wages out of the Lengthy Trial Fund not to exceed One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) per day from the fourth to the tenth day of jury service.
(d) Any juror who is serving or has served on a jury that qualifies for payment from the Lengthy Trial Fund, provided the service commenced on or after January 1, 2007, may submit a request for payment from the Lengthy Trial Fund on a form that the administrator provides. Payment shall be limited to the difference between the jury fee specified in subsection (1) of this section and the actual amount of wages a juror earns, up to the maximum level payable, minus any amount the juror actually receives from the employer during the same time period.
(i) The form shall disclose the juror's regular wages, the amount the employer will pay during the term of jury service starting on the eleventh day and thereafter, the amount of replacement or supplemental wages requested, and any other information the administrator deems necessary for proper payment.
(ii) The juror also shall be required to submit verification from the employer as to the wage information provided to the administrator, for example, the employee's most recent earnings statement or similar document, prior to initiation of payment from the fund.
(iii) If an individual is self-employed or receives compensation other than wages, the individual may provide a sworn affidavit attesting to his or her approximate gross weekly income, together with such other information as the administrator may require, in order to verify weekly income.
(4) Nothing in this section shall be construed to impose an obligation on any county to place monies in the Lengthy Trial Fund or to pay replacement or supplemental wages to any juror from county funds.
SOURCES: Codes, 1880, Sec. 454; 1892, Sec. 2028; 1906, Sec. 2207;
Hemingway's 1917, Sec. 1892; 1930, Sec. 1811; 1942 Sec. 3959; Laws, 1920,
ch. 143; 1932, ch. 192; 1936, ch. 248; 1946, ch. 180; 1958, ch. 324, Sec.
2; 1962, ch. 383; 1964, ch. 365, Sec. 1; 1974, ch. 420; 1975, ch. 367;
1986, ch. 459, Sec. 32; 1989, ch. 345, Sec. 1; 1989, ch. 395, Sec. 2, eff
from and after January 1, 1990. Laws, 1994, ch. 643, Sec. 2, eff from and
after May 15, 1995 (the date the United States Attorney General determined
that the amendment by the Act was not subject to the preclearance requirements
of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965); Laws, 2004, 1st
Ex Sess, ch. 1, § 12, HB 13, eff from and after Jan. 1,
2007.
PREVIOUS VERSIONS: Pre-2004