Jury Duty Pay in Alaska

About Jury Duty in Alaska

Alaska pays jurors $25 per day starting from the second day — the first day of each service period is unpaid. The court arranges air or ferry transport for jurors from the 82% of Alaska communities not connected by roads. Mileage is only reimbursed for jurors living 30 or more miles from the courthouse. In December 2025, a Bethel court order excluded 12 villages from jury pools due to a local housing shortage.

How Jury Pay Works

Compensation is set by Alaska Supreme Court administrative rules (not a single statute): $25/day starting day 2, with the first day unpaid. Mileage is reimbursed at the state employee rate but only for jurors residing 30+ miles from the courthouse. The court arranges and pays for air or ferry transport for jurors in roadless areas, and provides lodging and meals when jurors cannot return home the same day.

The Remote Alaska Challenge

Alaska’s geography creates jury logistics found nowhere else in the United States. 82% of communities are not connected by roads. Jurors from villages in the Aleutians, Southeast Alaska, or above the Arctic Circle may need to fly to the courthouse — travel arranged and paid for by the court system. The Alaska Trial Jury Handbook explicitly provides for these arrangements.

The December 2025 Bethel court order acknowledged a practical limit: 12 Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta villages were excluded from jury pools because there simply wasn’t enough housing in Bethel to accommodate jurors during trials. This illustrates the tension between the constitutional ideal of a jury of one’s peers and the logistical reality of remote Alaska.

Employer Obligations

Alaska employers are not required to pay wages during jury service but cannot penalize employees. Employer protection is under Alaska Stat. § 09.20.037.

How Alaska Compares

Alaska’s $25/day (starting day 2) is mid-range nationally, but the travel logistics — and the state’s willingness to cover air/ferry transport — make it one of the highest-cost jury systems per juror. The unpaid first day is unusual. Federal jurors in Alaska’s single district receive $50/day from day one.

Statute: Alaska Stat. § 09.20.037 (employer protection); compensation set by Alaska Supreme Court administrative rules — Official source