The Government is still considering whether to boost payments to jurors to improve their attendance at court.
A spokesman for Justice Minister Phil Goff said yesterday that the financial implications of increasing the payments were under discussion, along with several options for making jury service more attractive.
A Law Commission report published
in March recommended better payments for jurors, to help stem the large number failing to show up or excused because of financial hardship.
Jurors get $50 a day for the first week of a trial and $70 a day thereafter. They are also eligible for a travel allowance of 38 cents a kilometre if there is no public transport within 3km of their home.
The Law Commission report recommended that, while a flat fee should remain, it should be at a higher rate and registrars should have the discretion to pay the value of lost wages in special cases. Travel costs should also be reimbursed in full.
Former law commissioner Tim Brewer, who headed the review, said yesterday that financial hardship was a significant factor in jurors failing to attend.
He said: "We had one letter written to us by a very disgruntled middle manager who said he had turned up for jury duty, had taken the time off work and ended up spending half the day in court and not been called on to a jury.
"He said he looked up the maximum fine for not attending, and said the next time he got summoned, he would just send in a cheque."
The maximum fine for failing to attend is $300, but the Government proposes increasing this to $1000.
It is also implementing another part of the Law Commission report that would allow majority, rather than unanimous, decisions in certain cases.
- NZPA
