§3105. Compensation of jurors in civil cases

A. Those serving as jurors in the trial of civil cases triable by a jury in the Civil District Court for the parish of Orleans shall be entitled to compensation of twenty-five dollars each for each and every day, or part of a day, on which they serve as jurors in any civil case, the said sum total to be charged as costs and paid by the party cast for such costs. The party praying for the jury shall deposit with the clerk of the civil district court the sum of twenty-five dollars as jury costs. In addition, prior to the commencement of the trial, the party praying for the jury shall deposit in the registry of the court the sum of three hundred dollars for each day the court estimates the trial will last. No case triable by jury shall be placed on the court's jury trial docket or fixed for trial unless the twenty-five dollar deposit is made. No such trial by jury shall commence until the additional deposit provided for herein is made.

B. Any deposit so made as herein provided shall be returned to the party making such deposit and any bond filed as herein provided shall be cancelled in the event that the matter in which trial by jury has been requested has been tried, settled, determined or otherwise disposed of for any reason, without having been tried by a jury.

C. The judge of the division of the civil district court to whom a case to be tried by a jury has been allotted shall have the right to entirely waive the depositing of such jurors' compensation and the filing of bond, upon proper showing to the satisfaction of the said judge that the party or parties praying for such trial by jury is or are financially unable to deposit such sum and furnish such bond. The said judge shall have the further right and discretion of determining whether the compensation to be paid to the jurors serving in such case shall be paid prior to the actual trial of the said case in whole or by partial payments should such party or parties be financially able to provide for such payment prior to such trial. In the event that all or any part of such jurors' compensation is not paid by the party cast upon rendition of the verdict of any such jury trying such case, such compensation shall be advanced by the clerk of court out of the jury fees on deposit with him or, if such fund is not sufficient so to do, then out of the judicial expense fund, and the said clerk and/or the judicial expense fund shall have a right thereafter to recover such sum so advanced from the party cast, if it be found that such party cast is financially able to make such payment in reimbursement of such jurors' compensation, or from the surety on any bond furnished by said party against whom judgment has been rendered.

Amended by Acts 1966, No. 327, §1; Acts 1968, No. 540, §1; Acts 1973, No. 68, §1; Acts 1975, No. 233, §1; Acts 2010, No. 900, §1, eff. July 2, 2010.