One aspect of jury duty of which I was always concerned was the financial strain of a lengthy trial many citizens.. Most of the trials I presided over in state court lasted no longer than 10 court-days. After being appointed to the bench I quickly stopped suggesting to the potential jurors the numbers of days the trial would likely require. Trials are often delayed by illness of participants, witness issues, technology issues, etc. Where I worked a significant portion of the jury pool were self-employed people in the trades, farmers, students with part-time jobs, and day care providers. They could not afford to lose even a week of income.
A lawyer in the notorious Young Thug trial last week opined that the trial may go into 2027. I recall several decades ago when the tobacco company trials in Saint Paul, Minnesota, federal court went for many months, several of the jurors had to file bankruptcy, having been out of work during the course of the trial. The court-paid jury fee is pathetic, often $20-50 a day. Many citizens who are self-employed or will not be paid by their employer genuinely are afraid of financial ruin if not excused from jury duty.
Just Google 'avoiding jury duty" and you may be surprised at what you will see.
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