This may forever tag me as a hopeless geek, but I like doing jury duty. In fact, given my track history of getting called for jury duty, I'm way overdue.

Jury duty is just as much a responsibility of being a citizen as voting. I have little tolerance for people who don't want to do either. I repsect the fact that some people are unable to do jury duty, but actively trying to get out of it because you don't want to do it? Not good.

I think I got paid $30/day for the 10 days or so I was on a jury about 10 years ago, plus comped parking tickets (there's a desperate shortage of parking near the courthouse, so they told us to park in the metered municipal lot and bring the inevitable tickets to the bailiff the following day).

I think managers and personnel managers will agree that increasing an employee's pay does little to improve an employee's outlook. A positive attitude has more to do with making the experience more enjoyable. That money should instead be spent on improving the jurors overall experience: processing efficiency, variety, convenience(s), etc. For instance, consider how the gambling industry consistently returns clients who rave about their losses and can't wait to re-live their experience.

I'd settle for a bit less than $40/day, if they'd increase that first day's pay a bit. How 'bout $15 for the first day and $30/day thereafter?

I think managers and personnel managers will agree that increasing an employee's pay does little to improve an employee's outlook.

There's something to that, but keep in mind those folks are in the business of telling execs what they want to hear: that their employees don't need no stinkin' raises!

A positive attitude has more to do with making the experience more enjoyable. That money should instead be spent on improving the jurors' overall experience: processing efficiency, variety, convenience(s), etc.

And I agree. Here in Dallas, they do offer a free DART pass or reduced-rate parking, but only for the first day. At least if you get selected, the new reimbursement will cover the cost of parking or transportation for your remaining days of service, but wouldn't it be easier to provide jurors with something like a prepaid Visa, which they could use against their juror pay for those kinds of things? Along the same lines, how 'bout a special sticker that lets jurors use the HOV lanes and/or put turnpike tolls on their "tab" (don't know how practical that'd be; just brainstorming.)

And while we're at it, let's get rid of the interminable waiting, centralize courts so jurors don't have to find a different building in the afternoon than the one they went to in the morning, and lighten up on security screenings a bit! The X-ray and metal detectors can stay, but a juror responding to a summons is an unlikely terrorist, after all; does anyone really think any al-Qaida sleeper plans to wait until called for jury service, then whip out a pen-knife and start slashing away at fellow jurors until they get shot?

Last time I served jury duty the 6.00 didn't even pay my parking. Thankfully, my salary was covered by my employer so I didn't lose wages like a lot of people.

Of course now I work downtown so I could use my office permit and just walk to the courthouse. But I doubt the prosecution would pick a bleeding heart social worker...