‘Jury duty is an essential element of our judicial system in America,” according to the Spokane County Superior Court Web site.

And what do we pay people for participating in this vital function? Ten bucks a day, an amount that hasn’t budged since Dwight Eisenhower was president. That’s less money than a minimum wage worker earns in two hours. There are lemonade stands that rake in more.

For years, Washington Supreme Court Chief Gerry Alexander has lobbied unsuccessfully for the state Legislature to enact an increase. This year, the Senate’s budget includes a small pay bump for superior courts. It’s not the plan Alexander advocates, but it’s a start.

Under the Senate’s plan, Superior Court jurors would get $10 from the state if counties pay $10. If counties increase their pay, the state would provide a dollar-for-dollar match. The most a juror could make is $40 a day. The proposal would cost $3.5 million a year.

Municipal and district courts are left out in the cold, and that’s a serious shortcoming.

Meanwhile, the House has agreed to finance Alexander’s idea for a research project in three jurisdictions that would pay jurors minimum wage for their days of service, or about $61 a day. The hope is that better pay would increase woeful participation rates.

Only about one-quarter of people who receive jury summonses in the United States actually serve. In Spokane County, the participation rate is about one-third. In King County, it’s about 22 percent. It’s illegal to ignore a jury summons, but the law is rarely enforced.

Pay is an issue when it comes to participation, especially for those workers who aren’t paid by their employers while on jury duty. For them, $10 a day presents a financial hardship. The result is that jury pools are made up of an inordinate number of retirees and those who are paid while away from work. Judges worry that this prevents courts from getting a true cross-section of the public, which makes it more difficult for defendants to get a jury of their peers.

Because of the varying wealth levels in Washington’s 39 counties, the state is a proper source for funding an increase in jury duty pay.

Many legislators acknowledge that the pay is embarrassing, but they wonder where the money will come from.

As always, it comes down to a matter of priorities. Have legislators really considered whether everything else they’re paying for is more important than this “essential element in our judicial system”?

In 1959, jurors made $10 a day. That’s equivalent to about $70 today. If the state put as much value on jury service as it did back then, perhaps those who are summoned would follow suit.