This is about the jury verdict in Capitol v. Thomas, where a jury awarded 2 million dollars to the plaintiff for for infringing 24 songs. More details are here: Capitol v. Thomas
The original decision was typical of the American jury system, best described as collective retardism, where the total IQ for the jury rarely exceeds 600. Why is this? Think of jury duty as an IQ test, the smarter you are the more likely it is you will talk your way out of it. “But it’s your civic duty” some say. Here’s the deal. The judge get’s paid 70 – 100+k, the lawyer gets whatever he can squeeze out of the client, I would guess the prosecutor makes between 35-45k(maybe more, I don’t know), and all the court officers get paid too. Do you know how much people get paid for serving on a Minnesota jury? Ten bucks a day, plus round trip mileage for an additional whopping sum of 27 cents a mile.
http://www.courts.mn.gov/?page=1341#WillIBePaid
Most trials are short, but what if you win the shit lottery and get stuck on jury duty for a trial that lasts for months? I think it’s fairly safe to say most people can’t make rent on that, let alone pay other bills, like car payments, insurance, electric, ect… So the reward for being a “good citizen” is to get evicted and have your car repossessed if you win the long trial shit lottery. Yeah, I’d say that pretty much weeds out 99% of the smart people, as they will run screaming from a “civic duty” which could leave them homeless. On the other hand, if you are on welfare, or an alcoholic bum not looking for work, why NOT serve on a jury? So there you have it, that’s why you wind up with idiotic verdicts like $80,000 per song, a decision with no grounding in civil law, criminal law, or any other law, just a bunch of idiots who wanted to punish the big bad pirate.
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I don't know how common it is but I know Nebraska requires employers to pay you you salary when you are on Jury Duty. I am not sure how it works for hourly employees.
ReplyDeleteIt varies from state to state, I made sure to quote what was paid in Minnesota, where that trial was held. My personal opinion is they shouldn't put the burden on employers, the state should pay a decent rate to jurors that they can actually pay bills with. If states can afford to pay welfare, and give free housing and food to people who don't work and contribute nothing, it can pay jurors who are doing important work.
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