Economic woes mean jurors tougher to come by

"Judges and legal experts say the number of jurors asking to be excused because of economic pressures is increasing in South Florida and across the nation," writes Brian Haas of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. "With climbing unemployment, waves of home foreclosures and worries that time away from work could cost jobs, judges are finding it harder to seat juries, especially for trials expected to last longer than a day." The problem is worse in rural area where assembling juries is difficult without a recession.

Legal experts are concerned that the inability to form juries could clog courts, add further economic strain, and increase court costs for taxpayers. Juries can often be difficult to assemble in sparsely propulated rural areas. Meanwhile, the predominantly rural states of Idaho, Nebraska and Alabama are experimenting with reducing the courts to a four-work week to save money. (Read more)