"A regular trial (petit jury) might last three days. A grand jury can last six months. With such a massive difference in commitment, surely the court pays grand jurors more, right? Not necessarily."
A petit jury (regular trial jury) sits for a single specific case, hears evidence from both sides, and decides guilt or innocence. It is usually a one-time event lasting a few days or weeks.
A grand jury operates behind closed doors, hears evidence only from the prosecutor, and decides whether there is enough evidence to indict someone and send them to trial. Grand juries typically meet one or two days a week for several months.
In most jurisdictions, the daily base pay is exactly the same whether you are on a grand jury or a petit jury. If your state pays $20 a day, you will get $20 every time you report for your weekly grand jury session.
However, because grand juries last so long, some systems have duration bumps. For example, the Federal system pays $50 a day, but if a federal grand juror serves more than 45 days, the pay can be increased to $60 a day.
The biggest issue with grand juries is employer fatigue. Even if your employer offers 'paid jury leave,' their policy might cap out at 10 days. If your grand jury meets 24 times over six months, you might run out of paid civic leave from your job and be forced to take the sessions unpaid. Always discuss a grand jury summons with HR immediately to understand how your paid leave will be applied over an extended timeframe.
The daily pay rate for a grand jury is usually the same as a regular jury. The real challenge is that the months-long commitment often exhausts an employer's paid jury duty leave limits.