Launched in March of 2022, the Be The Jury pilot program provides $100 a day for qualifying individuals who may claim financial hardship to serve on a jury and improve the diversity of San Francisco jury pools. After six months, the results are promising, and the demographics of program participants almost mirror the demographics of San Francisco.
"People really enjoyed the fact that they could actually participate in their civic duty, and they didn't have to feel like they couldn't feed their family or pay their rent to do it," said Yolanda Jackson, Executive Director and General Counsel of The Bar Association of San Francisco.
You can listen to the full interview below or read the article KQED created based on the interview here.
Jackson pictured interviewing at KQED.