MINISTER of Justice Delroy Chuck has responded positively to the clamour for an increase in the stipend paid to people who are empanelled for jury duty and has accepted that those who are called to serve as jurors but are not empanelled should also receive a stipend.

Making his contribution to the 2024/25 Sectoral Debate on Tuesday, Chuck announced a 200 per cent increase in the daily stipend to be paid to people who serve as jurors.

“The ministry is well aware of the challenges facing the jury system. We have had several discussions with our stakeholders on ways to improve this important area of justice.

“I am pleased to announce that Cabinet has approved an increase in the stipend for jurors. Each juror, whose name is called for any circuit, will be paid $2,000 for each day he/she is called to the court. Jurors who are empanelled will now receive $6,000 for each day in court,” said Chuck.

He later told the Jamaica Observer that the increase will be implemented by July as the Government reacts to the long-standing concerns.

The island has been suffering from a shortage of jurors for years with scores of people served with summonses for failing to appear in courts.

In March 2023, director of the Court Administration Division (CAD) Tricia Cameron-Anglin indicated that an increase was in the making for jurors.

At that time Cameron-Anglin admitted that the $2,000 per day stipend given to jurors was “really low” and pointed out that, at times, court workers have had to reach into their pockets to subsidise jurors.

“We have had to assist many of them, especially in the rural areas, getting to court and actually getting them back home. So, this is something we have put as a Court Administrative Division to the powers that be and they have responded favourably to the reports and the submissions we have made for an increased stipend,” said Cameron-Anglin.

The comments from the CAD head came days after Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Paula Llewellyn expressed hope that the stipend being paid to jurors would be increased to encourage more people to serve.

At the start of the Hilary Term in the Home Circuit Court in January 2023, Llewellyn lamented the chronic shortage of jurors affecting the justice system.

She said then that the crisis was the worst she had seen in years.

Jurors are not summoned for specific cases but are called for a particular period and placed in a pool from which they are then empanelled for different cases after orientation. Summonses are issued to the police for distribution to selected Jamaicans who are expected to report to the court specified in the summons, on the date stipulated.

Failing to turn up for jury duty when summoned can result in a fine not exceeding $10,000.