[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 55 (Thursday, April 5, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E400]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     INTRODUCTION OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA JUROR PAY PARITY ACT

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                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 5, 2018

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, today, I introduce the District of Columbia 
Juror Pay Parity Act of 2018 to require that D.C. Superior Court jurors 
receive pay for jury service equal to that received by federal jurors.
  Currently, D.C. Superior Court jurors are paid $30 per day, and, 
under the D.C. Home Rule Act, only the D.C. courts and Congress have 
the authority to increase Superior Court juror pay. My bill would 
require that Superior Court jurors receive pay equal to that received 
by federal jurors.
  In the fiscal year 2018 omnibus appropriations bill, Congress 
included a pay increase from $40 to $50 per day for federal jurors, the 
first increase to federal juror pay in 28 years. My bill would give 
Superior Court jurors the same pay.
  Under the National Capital Revitalization and Self-Government 
Improvement Act of 1997 (Pub. L. 105-33), Congress took responsibility 
for paying for the D.C. courts and most other state-like functions. The 
D.C. courts, however, have always been under the control of Congress, 
even when they were funded by the District. The Home Rule Act prohibits 
the District government from enacting any law regarding Title 11 of the 
D.C. Code. Title 11 provides that the Board of Judges of the Superior 
Court sets juror pay, but that the pay may not exceed the pay of 
federal jurors. Therefore, this bill, or action by D.C. courts, is 
necessary to increase Superior Court juror pay.
  I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

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