Can a Texas county pay grand jurors more than petit jurors, or vary juror pay by which court they serve in?

Plain-English summary

A district attorney asked whether a county commissioners court could pay grand jurors a different daily reimbursement than petit jurors, and whether it could vary petit jurors' reimbursement based on the court in which they serve. The question arose because the Guadalupe County Commissioners Court was reimbursing grand jurors more than petit jurors, and district and county court petit jurors more than justice court petit jurors.

The Attorney General concluded the county could not do either. Section 61.001 of the Government Code requires a county to reimburse each grand or petit juror an amount between $6 and $50 for each day or fraction of a day served, with the commissioners court setting the rate annually. The statute identifies only one circumstance for treating categories of jurors differently: subsection (d) lets the court reduce or eliminate reimbursement for people who attend court for only one day or less and use those retained funds to increase the reimbursement for jurors who serve more than one day. A commissioners court is a court of limited jurisdiction that may exercise only the powers the constitution and statutes give it. Because the statute provides only that single length-of-service distinction, the opinion read subsection (a) to require one uniform rate otherwise. It also pointed to a prior opinion reading the statute to entitle all jurors who serve in a given year to the same daily fee. Subsection (c) lets a presiding judge raise the rate in a specific case, but the parties, not the county, pay that supplement, so the county's contribution stays constant.

So the answers were: no different rate for grand jurors versus petit jurors based on that status, and no different rate for petit jurors based on the court they serve in. The opinion noted that rates can still end up differing in practice, because grand jurors or district court jurors are more likely to serve more than one day, but only through the length-of-service mechanism in subsection (d), not by drawing distinctions between juror types or courts.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2002. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later Attorney General opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here. The dollar figures and the structure of juror pay in section 61.001 have been amended since 2002, so the specific amounts described here may no longer be current.

What the opinion meant for those who asked

The requesting district attorney and the county (what the opinion held): The opinion told them that reimbursing grand jurors more than petit jurors, or paying justice court jurors less than district court jurors, was not authorized unless it flowed from the length-of-service rule in subsection (d). Otherwise the rate must be uniform.

County commissioners courts (what the opinion held): The opinion treated the commissioners court as limited to the powers the statute confers, and read section 61.001 to allow only one juror-rate distinction, between those who serve one day or less and those who serve longer.

Grand and petit jurors (what the opinion held): The opinion entitled jurors to a uniform daily reimbursement set by the county, subject only to the subsection (d) length-of-service adjustment and the subsection (c) case-specific increase paid by the parties.

Common questions

Can a county pay grand jurors more than petit jurors?
Not based on that status. The opinion concluded section 61.001 requires the same rate for all jurors except for the length-of-service adjustment in subsection (d).

Can juror pay differ by the court the juror serves in?
No. The opinion found no statutory authority to set different petit-juror reimbursement rates for district, county, or justice court service.

So why might grand jurors actually receive more?
Because they are more likely to serve more than one day. Under subsection (d), a county may reduce pay for one-day jurors and raise it for longer-serving jurors, which can make rates differ in practice without drawing a grand-versus-petit distinction.

Can a juror ever get more than the county's set rate?
Yes, in a specific case, if the presiding judge increases it with the parties' agreement. But the parties pay that supplement, not the county, so the county's contribution stays the same.

Background and statutory framework

Section 61.001(a) of the Government Code entitles each grand or petit juror in a civil or criminal case in a district court, criminal district court, county court, county court at law, or justice court to reimbursement of not less than $6 nor more than $50 for each day or fraction of a day served. Tex. Gov't Code Ann. § 61.001(a) (Vernon Supp. 2002). Subsection (c) directs the commissioners court to set the daily reimbursement annually within those limits, and lets a presiding judge increase it in a specific case with the parties paying the difference. Tex. Gov't Code Ann. § 61.001(c) (Vernon Supp. 2002). Subsection (d) lets the commissioners court reduce or eliminate reimbursement for those who serve one day or less and apply the retained funds to increase reimbursement for jurors who serve more than one day. Tex. Gov't Code Ann. § 61.001(d).

A commissioners court is a court of limited jurisdiction that may exercise only the powers the constitution and statutes confer expressly or by implication. Vinson v. Burgess, 773 S.W.2d 263, 267 (Tex. 1989); Canales v. Laughlin, 214 S.W.2d 451, 453 (Tex. 1948); Jack v. State, 694 S.W.2d 391, 397 (Tex. App.-San Antonio 1985, writ ref'd n.r.e.); Childress County v. State, 92 S.W.2d 1011, 1016 (Tex. 1936); Wilson v. County of Calhoun, 489 S.W.2d 393, 397 (Tex. Civ. App.-Corpus Christi 1972, writ ref'd n.r.e.). Because section 61.001 provides only the single subsection (d) circumstance for differing rates, the opinion read subsection (a) to require a uniform rate otherwise, consistent with a prior opinion that all jurors serving in a given year are entitled to the same daily fee.

Citations

Statutes:

• Tex. Gov't Code Ann. § 61.001(a) (Vernon Supp. 2002)
• Tex. Gov't Code Ann. § 61.001(c) (Vernon Supp. 2002)
• Tex. Gov't Code Ann. § 61.001(d)

Cases:

• Vinson v. Burgess, 773 S.W.2d 263, 267 (Tex. 1989)
• Canales v. Laughlin, 214 S.W.2d 451, 453 (Tex. 1948)
• Jack v. State, 694 S.W.2d 391, 397 (Tex. App.-San Antonio 1985, writ ref'd n.r.e.)
• Childress County v. State, 92 S.W.2d 1011, 1016 (Tex. 1936)
• Wilson v. County of Calhoun, 489 S.W.2d 393, 397 (Tex. Civ. App.-Corpus Christi 1972, writ ref'd n.r.e.)

Prior Attorney General opinions referenced: JC-0171 (2000), LO-97-009.

Source

• Landing page: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/opinions/john-cornyn/jc-0568
• Original PDF: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/opinion-files/opinion/2002/jc0568.pdf

Original opinion text

Best-effort transcription from the official PDF. Minor extraction artifacts were corrected; the linked PDF is authoritative.

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL . STATE OF TEXAS
JOHN CORNYN

October 29, 2002

The Honorable W.C. Kirkendall Opinion No. JC-0568
District Attorney
25th Judicial District of Texas Re: Whether a county commissioners court may
113 South River, Suite 205 set the daily reimbursement rate of grand jurors'
Seguin, Texas 78155 expenses at a rate different from petit jurors'
expenses, and related question (RQ-0548-JC)

Dear Mr. Kirkendall:

Section 61.001 of the Government Code requires a county to reimburse "[e]ach grand juror or petit juror in a civil or criminal case in a district court, criminal district court, county court, county court at law, or justice court . . . for travel and other expenses [in] an amount not less than $6 nor more than $50 for each day or fraction of each day served as a juror." TEX. GOV'T CODE ANN. § 61.001(a) (Vernon Supp. 2002). Section 61.001 specifies only one circumstance in which the court may set different reimbursement rates for different categories of jurors: Under subsection (d), a commissioners court may vote to reduce or eliminate the "daily reimbursement" received by jurors who attend court for one day or less and to apply those extra funds to increase the daily reimbursement for longer-term jurors under section 61.001(d). Id. § 61.001(d). You ask whether a commissioners court may set the daily reimbursement rate for grand jurors at a rate different from that set for petit jurors.[1] We conclude that a county commissioners court has no authority to set different reimbursement rates for jurors in different categories except as subsection (d) permits. See Tex. Att'y Gen. Op. No. JC-0171 (2000) at 1 (stating that county commissioners court may exercise only those powers that constitution and statutes confer upon it, either explicitly or implicitly).

You also ask whether a commissioners court may set different daily reimbursement rates for petit jurors based upon the court in which the juror serves, such as a district court, a county court, or a justice court. See Request Letter, supra note 1, at 1. Because we find no statutory authority for such a juror-reimbursement differential, we conclude that a commissioners court may not adopt one.

You are concerned that juror-reimbursement differentials based upon distinctions not expressly set out in section 61.001 of the Government Code are unauthorized. You aver that the Guadalupe County Commissioners Court, purportedly acting in accordance with section 61.001 of the Government Code, reimburses "[g]rand jurors . . . more than petit jurors" and "[p]etit jurors in district court and county court . . . at a higher rate than petit jurors in justice court." Request Letter, supra note 1, at 1.

Section 61.001 provides in general terms for reimbursing jurors' expenses:

(a) Each grand juror or petit juror in a civil or criminal case in a district court, criminal district court, county court, county court at law, or justice court is entitled to receive as reimbursement for travel and other expenses an amount not less than $6 nor more than $50 for each day or fraction of each day served as a juror.

(c) The commissioners court of each county shall determine annually the daily reimbursement of expenses for jurors. Except as provided by Subsection (d), the reimbursement must be within the minimum and maximum amounts prescribed by this section and paid out of the jury fund of the county. In a specific case, the presiding judge, with the agreement of the parties involved or their attorneys, may increase the daily reimbursement for jurors in that case to an amount not to exceed the maximum amount prescribed by this section. The difference between the usual daily reimbursement and the reimbursement for jurors in a specific case shall be paid, in equal amounts, by the parties involved in the case.

(d) The commissioners court of a county may reduce or eliminate the daily reimbursement prescribed by this section for persons who attend court for only one day or a fraction of one day. The funds retained by a county as a result of reducing or eliminating reimbursement as provided by this subsection may only be used to increase the daily reimbursement prescribed by this section for jurors and for persons who attend court for more than one day.

TEX. GOV'T CODE ANN. § 61.001(a), (c)-(d) (Vernon Supp. 2002).

We conclude that, except as subsection (d) permits, section 61.001 requires a county commissioners court to set the same reimbursement rate for all jurors, regardless of a juror's status as a grand or petit juror or of the court in which the juror serves. A county commissioners court is a court of limited jurisdiction; it may exercise only those powers that the state constitution and statutes confer upon it, either explicitly or implicitly. See Vinson v. Burgess, 773 S.W.2d 263, 267 (Tex. 1989) (citing Canales v. Laughlin, 214 S.W.2d 451, 453 (Tex. 1948)); Jack v. State, 694 S.W.2d 391, 397 (Tex. App.-San Antonio 1985, writ ref'd n.r.e.) (citing Childress County v. State, 92 S.W.2d 1011, 1016 (Tex. 1936); Wilson v. County of Calhoun, 489 S.W.2d 393, 397 (Tex. Civ. App.-Corpus Christi 1972, writ ref'd n.r.e.)). Because section 61.001(a) requires a commissioners court to set juror reimbursement rates and is silent with respect to whether the rates must be the same for all types of jurors, one might read the statute implicitly to permit a commissioners court to set different reimbursement rates. Nevertheless, we have previously read section 61.001(a) and (c), albeit in response to a different issue, to require that "all jurors who serve during a given year are entitled to the same daily jury fee." Tex. Att'y Gen. LO-97-009, at 2. Moreover, the fact that section 61.001 provides only one circumstance in which different types of jurors may be reimbursed at different rates suggests that the legislature intends subsection (a) to require a single reimbursement rate, except in accordance with subsection (d). Subsection (c) permits a juror in certain cases to receive an increased rate, but the county's contribution remains constant; the parties to the action pay the supplement. See TEX. GOV'T CODE ANN. § 61.001(c) (Vernon Supp. 2002).

We answer your questions accordingly. First, a commissioners court may not set the daily reimbursement rate for grand jurors at a rate different from that set for petit jurors. It may be, of course, that grand jurors are more likely to attend court more than one day and that petit jurors are more likely to attend court one day or less, and their reimbursement rates may differ on that basis if the commissioners court has acted in accordance with section 61.001(d). Second, a commissioners court may not set different daily reimbursement rates for petit jurors based upon the court in which they serve. Again, it may be that petit jurors who serve in a district court are more likely than petit jurors who serve in a justice court to attend court more than one day and that therefore a district court juror may receive an increased reimbursement under subsection (d), while a justice court juror may receive a reduced reimbursement or no reimbursement. But the court may not set different reimbursement rates based upon any distinction other than whether the jurors serve one day or more than one day, in accordance with section 61.001(d).

SUMMARY

Section 61.001 of the Government Code requires a county commissioners court to reimburse all jurors at the same rate, except as subsection (d) permits. See TEX. GOV'T CODE ANN. § 61.001 (Vernon Supp. 2002). Subsection (d) expressly authorizes a commissioners court to "reduce or eliminate the daily reimbursement" paid to jurors "who attend court for only one day or a fraction of one day" and to use those retained funds to "increase the daily reimbursement . . . for jurors . . . who attend court for more than one day." Id. § 61.001(d). Thus, a commissioners court may not set the daily reimbursement rate for grand jurors at a rate different from that set for petit jurors, based upon a juror's status as grand or petit. Similarly, a commissioners court may not set different daily reimbursement rates for petit jurors based upon the court in which a juror serves, i.e., district court, county court, or justice court.

JOHN CORNYN
Attorney General of Texas

HOWARD G. BALDWIN, JR.
First Assistant Attorney General

NANCY FULLER
Deputy Attorney General - General Counsel

SUSAN DENMON GUSKY
Chair, Opinion Committee

Kymberly K. Oltrogge
Assistant Attorney General, Opinion Committee

[1] Letter from Honorable W.C. Kirkendall, District Attorney, 25th Judicial District, to Opinion Committee, Office of the Attorney General at 1 (May 7, 2002) (on file with Opinion Committee) [hereinafter Request Letter].