COURTS OF APPEALS, DISTRICT COURTS, AND OTHER JUDICIAL SERVICES

Fees of Jurors and Commissioners

SUMMARY STATEMENT OF ACCOUNT REQUIREMENTS

Fiscal Year 2019 Assumed Appropriation $ 50,750,000

Fiscal Year 2020 Requested Appropriation $ 51,851,000

Requested Increase from Fiscal Year 2019 Assumed Appropriation 1,101,000

APPROPRIATION LANGUAGE

COURTS OF APPEALS, DISTRICT COURTS, AND OTHER JUDICIAL SERVICES

FEES OF JURORS AND COMMISSIONERS

 For fees and expenses of jurors as authorized by 28 U.S.C. 1871 and 1876; compensation of jury 

commissioners as authorized by 28 U.S.C. 1863; and compensation of commissioners appointed in 

condemnation cases pursuant to rule 71.1(h) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (28 U.S.C. Appendix 

Rule 71.1(h)), [$50,750,000]$51,851,000, to remain available until expended: Provided , That the 

compensation of land commissioners shall not exceed the daily equivalent of the highest rate payable 

under 5 U.S.C. 5332.

(H.R. 6147 - Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act, 2019, updated to reflect the 

judiciary's fiscal year 2019 assumed appropriation)

 6.1
Fiscal Year 2019 Resource Requirements:

FTEs Amount

Fiscal Year 2019 Assumed Obligations........................................................................ - $51,750

Carryforward balances and prior year recoveries.................................................. - (1,000)

Fiscal Year 2019 Assumed Appropriation.................................................................. - $50,750

Page 

No. A. Adjustments to Base:

6.10 1. Inflationary adjustments

 a. Grand Jurors............................................................................................. - 169

 b. Petit Jurors................................................................................................ - 319

6.10 2. Adjustment to base for requirements in FY 2019......................................... - 1,051

6.10 3. Projected change in available jurors

 a. Grand Jurors............................................................................................. - (192)

 b. Petit Jurors................................................................................................ - (246)

 Subtotal, Adjustments to Base to Maintain Current Services......................................... - 1,101

 Total Current Services Appropriation Required...................................................... - 51,851

 Total Fiscal Year 2020 Appropriation Required....................................................... - 51,851

 - 1,101

Financing the Fiscal Year 2020 Request:

 - 51,851

6.11 4. Anticipated carryforward from FY 2019 and prior years into FY 2020........................... - 1,000

Estimated Obligations, Fiscal Year 2020..................................................................... - 52,851

 Total Appropriation Change, Fiscal Year 2019 to Fiscal Year 2020..............................

Total Appropriation Required.................................................................................

SUMMARY OF REQUEST

FEES OF JURORS AND COMMISSIONERS

FISCAL YEAR 2020

(Dollar amounts in thousands)

 6.2
Fiscal Year 2018 

Actual 

FY 2019

Assumed 

Obligations/

Appropriation

Fiscal Year 2020 

Request

Comparison by activities:

Land commissioners 12 100 100

Grand Jurors 14,966 17,625 17,548

Petit Jurors 35,287 34,025 35,203

Total Obligations 50,265 51,750 52,851

Unobligated Balance, start of year (78) (1,593) (1,000)

Prior Year Recoveries (836) (407) -

Unobligated Balance, end of year 1,593 1,000 -

Appropriation 50,944 50,750 51,851

Fiscal Year 2018 

Actual 

Fiscal Year 2018 

Assumed Obligations 

Fiscal Year 2020 

Request

11 Personnel compensation 23,094 24,279 23,887

12 Personnel benefits 1 1 1

21 Travel 22,476 21,482 22,462

23 Rent, communications and utilities 2,375 2,423 2,643

25 Other services 1,016 2,236 2,431

26 Supplies and materials 1,303 1,329 1,427

Total obligations 50,265 51,750 52,851

Description

COURTS OF APPEALS, DISTRICT COURTS AND OTHER JUDICIAL SERVICES

FEES OF JURORS AND COMMISSIONERS

Obligations by Activity ($000)

Activity

Obligations by Budget Object Class ($000)

6.3
FY 2018 FY 2019 FY 2020 Difference

Actual Assumed Request (+) or (-)

Obligations

Obligations incurred, net 50,265 51,750 52,851 1,101

Obligated balance, start of year 2,337 2,828 3,754 926

Obligated balance, end of year (2,828) (3,754) (3,918) (164)

Change in prior year balances (576) - - -

Net Outlays 49,198 50,824 52,687 1,863

COURTS OF APPEALS, DISTRICT COURTS AND OTHER JUDICIAL SERVICES

FEES OF JURORS AND COMMISSIONERS

Relation of Obligations to Outlays ($000)

6.4
6.5

GENERAL STATEMENT AND INFORMATION

This appropriation provides for the statutory fees and allowances of grand and petit jurors, and for the compensation of jury and land 

commissioners. In addition to reimbursement for daily travel to and from court, expenses allowed include meals and lodging 

furnished to sequestered jurors, and transportation to view evidence or crime scenes offsite. Budgetary requirements depend largely 

upon the volume and the length of jury trials demanded by parties to both civil and criminal actions and the number of grand juries 

convened by the courts at the request of United States Attorneys. All these factors are outside the control of the judiciary.

The fiscal year (FY) 2020 request of $51,851,000 for the Fees of Jurors and Commissioners account will support all projected 

requirements for petit and grand jurors and land commissioners.

Petit Jurors

A petit jury may be called to hear a trial in a criminal or civil action. A criminal trial normally has a 12-person jury and a civil trial 

typically has a 7- to 9-person jury. Criminal juries decide whether the defendant committed the crime as charged. In a civil trial, the 

jury’s responsibility is to decide whether the defendant injured or otherwise failed to fulfill a legal obligation to the plaintiff and to 

determine what the compensation should be. Petit jurors are entitled to a daily attendance fee of $50 for each day of their jury service. 

In FY 2018, Congress approved the judiciary’s request to increase the daily petit juror attendance fee from $40 to $50.

The number of jurors called on any given day to serve in a petit jury pool is related to the number and type of cases in which a jury 

trial is requested. Moreover, under rules of criminal procedure, criminal trials are allowed additional peremptory challenges compared 

to civil trials because of the jury size. This means that the court must take these challenges into account when determining the number 

of potential jurors in a criminal jury pool. However, a correspondingly larger number of prospective jurors in the criminal pool will 

not be selected to serve on the trial due in part to the additional peremptory challenges. Thus, when compared to civil jury selections, 

the total number of prospective jurors completing jury service during jury selection is greater in criminal trials.

In FY 2018, the total number of available petit jurors1 increased by 2.5 percent to 357,004, ending a 10-year decline in available petit 

jurors. Available petit jurors are projected to decrease to 353,000 in FY 2019 and further decrease to 339,000 in FY 2020. This trend 

is driven largely by fewer filed cases proceeding to a jury trial. Similarly, trial days are estimated to decrease in FY 2019 and

 1 An available petit juror is one that is present for selection or serving following selection.
6.6

FY 2020. Table 6.1 on page 6.7 provides a historical pattern of the number of juror days, number of jurors called, and the related 

costs of those jurors’ expenses. 

Grand Jurors

A grand jury is a jury of inquiry whose duty is to receive complaints and accusations in criminal cases, hear the evidence presented on 

the part of the Government, and find bills of indictment in cases where the jurors are satisfied that the evidence presented is sufficient 

to warrant filing an indictment and bringing the case to trial. The number of grand juries convened by district courts varies depending 

on such factors as the number of criminal cases, the type of criminal activity, and the number of places in which court is held. Grand 

juror activity is measured by the number of sessions convened, jurors in session, and total jurors in attendance. Grand jurors are 

entitled to a daily attendance fee of $50 for each day of their jury service. Like petit jurors, in FY 2018, Congress approved the 

judiciary’s request to increase the daily grand juror attendance fee from $40 to $50.

In FY 2018, the total number of available grand jurors2 increased by 1.5 percent to 179,740. Available grand jurors are projected to 

continue to increase in FY 2019 to 180,100 and then decrease again in FY 2020 to 178,100. Overall, the downward trend of criminal 

case filings is reflected in the decline of grand jury sessions convened. Table 6.2 on page 6.8, provides further detail on grand jury 

activity. 

FISCAL YEAR 2019 APPROPRIATIONS ASSUMPTION

In the absence of enacted full year FY 2019 appropriations, the judiciary made assumptions to construct a FY 2020 budget request. 

The judiciary built the FY 2020 budget request for the Fees of Jurors and Commissioners appropriation assuming the FY 2019 reestimate of $50,750,000. This amount funds FY 2019 standard inflationary adjustments.

After full year FY 2019 appropriations are enacted, the judiciary will re-estimate its FY 2020 budget request and transmit to the 

Appropriations Committees any changes to FY 2020 appropriations requirements.

For bill language, the judiciary used the language from H.R. 6147, the House-passed FY 2019 Financial Services and General 

Government (FSGG) appropriations bill, updated with the assumed funding level as described above, as the closest approximation of 

eventual enacted FY 2019 appropriations language.

 2 An available grand juror is one that is either selected to serve or serving during a convened grand jury session.
6.7

Table 6.1 Petit Juror Activity

Petit Jury Trial Days Available Jurors Cost

Fiscal Year Criminal Civil Total

Percent

Change Jurors

Percent

Change

Fees &

Expenses

Percent

Change

Actual 2010 13,088 10,825 23,913 -5.7% 483,293 -7.5% $47,006,000 3.4%

2011 12,714 11,222 23,936 0.1% 469,199 -2.9% $37,909,000 -19.4%

2012 12,679 10,099 22,778 -4.8% 451,989 -3.7% $38,956,000 2.8%

2013 12,730 9,207 21,937 -3.7% 448,329 -0.8% $39,398,000 1.1%

2014 11,506 9,214 20,720 -5.5% 417,285 -6.9% $37,762,000 -4.2%

2015 9,609 9,947 19,556 -5.6% 376,723 -9.7% $34,002,000 -10.0%

2016 9,327 9,179 18,506 -5.4% 368,639 -2.1% $33,898,000 -0.3%

2017 8,892 8,628 17,520 -5.3% 348,259 -5.5% $32,209,000 -5.0%

2018 9,401 7,911 17,312 -1.2% 357,004 2.5% $35,287,000 9.6%

Estimated 2019 8,900 7,600 16,600 -1.1% 353,000 -1.1% $34,025,000 -3.6%

2020 8,500 7,100 15,700 -4.0% 339,000 -3.9% $35,203,000 3.5%
6.8

Table 6.2 Grand Jury Activity

Total Number of Grand Jurors Available Jurors Cost

Fiscal 

Year

Sessions 

Convened

Percent 

Change

Jurors in 

Session

Percent 

Change

Hours in 

Session Jurors

Percent 

Change

Fees & 

Expenses

Percent 

Change

Actual 2010 9,257 -1.1% 186,194 -0.2% 44,676 203,160 -0.4% $15,755,000 0.2%

2011 9,277 0.2% 186,020 -0.1% 44,845 203,435 0.1% $17,642,000 12.0%

2012 9,083 -2.1% 182,106 -2.1% 43,083 200,362 -1.5% $16,288,000 -7.7%

2013 8,923 -1.8% 179,076 -1.7% 41,477 196,540 -1.9% $16,097,000 -1.2%

2014 8,230 -7.8% 164,856 -7.9% 36,719 181,437 -7.7% $14,406,000 -10.5%

2015 8,087 -1.8% 161,493 -2.0% 36,098 177,720 -2.0% $14,495,000 0.1%

2016 8,249 2..0% 164,733 2.0% 36,621 180,709 1.7% $14,608,000 0.8%

2017 8,124 -1.5% 161,759 -1.8% 35,823 177,027 -2.0% $13,888,000 -4.9%

2018 8,258 1.6% 163,859 1.3% 36,458 179,740 1.5% $14,966,000 7.8%

Estimated 2019 8,200 -0.7% 164,700 0.5% 36,200 180,100 0.2% $17,625,000 17.8%

2020 8,100 -1.2% 163,000 -1.0% 35,600 178,100 -1.1% $17,548,000 -0.4%

Average Number of Total Number of Grand Juries

Fiscal Year Jurors per 

Session

Hours per 

Session

In Existence at the 

beginning of the 

Fiscal Year

Impaneled Discharged

2010 20.1 4.80 450 334 265

2011 20.0 4.70 458 341 263

2012 20.1 4.60 462 321 247

2013 20.0 4.60 460 318 267

2014 20.0 4.50 440 323 242

2015 15.9 3.60 439 312 255

2016 20.0 4.40 417 326 248

2017 19.9 4.40 433 322 240

2018 19.8 4.40 440 315 217
6.9

Land Commissioners

The responsibility of land commissioners is to determine the issue of just compensation arising from the deprivation of private 

property for public use. Under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, a district court may use its discretion to order that compensation 

for condemned property be determined by a commission of three persons appointed by the court. The determination of compensation 

is based on evidence presented during the exercise of trial procedures and evidentiary rulings. This delegation of the judicial function 

requires close judicial supervision and requires that actions taken by the commission be fully documented to permit full review by the 

district or appellate courts. This system ensures due process of law to the litigants.

Land commissioners are compensated based on the daily equivalent of the highest rate payable under 5 U.S.C. § 5332. They are also 

eligible for locality pay amounts that apply to their locality pay areas which are payable in addition to their basic pay. The annual 

adjusted pay rate (i.e., basic pay plus locality pay) for land commissioners is limited to the rate of pay for level III of the Executive 

Schedule, currently $174,500.
6.10

JUSTIFICATION OF CHANGES

The FY 2020 appropriation request for Fees of Jurors and 

Commissioners totals $51,851,000, which represents an increase 

of $1,101,000, or 2.2 percent, above the FY 2019 assumed 

appropriation of $50,750,000. The amount requested is for 

adjustments to base to maintain current services.

A. ADJUSTMENTS TO BASE TO MAINTAIN

 CURRENT SERVICES

1. Inflationary adjustments

a. Grand Jurors

Requested Increase: $169,000

An increase of $169,000 is requested for inflationary 

adjustments associated with grand juror costs, including travel 

allowances (mileage, parking, tolls), meals and lodging for 

sequestered jurors, and other miscellaneous juror expenses.

b. Petit Jurors

Requested Increase: $319,000

An increase of $319,000 is requested for inflationary increases 

associated with petit juror costs, including travel allowances

(mileage, parking, tolls), meals and lodging for sequestered 

jurors, and other miscellaneous juror expenses.

2. Adjustment to base to requirements in FY 2019 

 

Requested Increase: $1,051,000

An increase of $1,051,000 is requested to reflect a base 

adjustment to FY 2019 requirements in the petit juror program. 

The FY 2019 assumed level funds these requirements at a lower 

level than actual petit juror activity and revised, projected 

caseload anticipated in FY 2019. 

3. Projected change in available jurors

a. Grand Jurors

Requested Decrease: ($192,000)

A decrease of $192,000 is the result of a projected decline in the 

estimated number of available grand jurors from FY 2019 to 

FY 2020. 

b. Petit Jurors

Requested Decrease: ($246,000)

A decrease of $246,000 is the result of the projected decline in 

the estimated number of available petit jurors from FY 2019 to 

FY 2020.
6.11

FINANCING THE FY 2020 REQUEST

4. Anticipated carryforward from FY 2019 and prior years 

into FY 2020

Estimated funds available: $1,000,000

The judiciary projects $1,000,000 will be available through 

anticipated savings to carry forward from FY 2019 and prior 

years into FY 2020 to offset the FY 2020 appropriations request 

for the Fees of Jurors program. The judiciary will advise the 

appropriations subcommittee staffs of changes to this estimate.