D.C. Superior Court jurors got a pay increase this year, the first in nearly 25 years. But the boost came with no relief from the risk of fees to access the money loaded on debit cards.

In seeking the increase, DC Courts documents stated that juror pay hadn’t kept pace with inflation, was below rates for federal court and that the rate worked a hardship on people in non-salaried jobs whose employers don’t continue pay to cover jury duty. Jurors had voiced dissatisfaction.

The juror per diem jumped 33 percent in April, going from $30 to $40, according to a statement announcing the action. The transportation allowance skipped up 25 percent, from $4 to $5.

“This is a way of expressing our appreciation to those D.C. residents who come down to the courthouse to serve jury duty,” D.C. Superior Court Chief Judge Robert Morin said, noting that the Court relies on residents “to do their civic duty, in order to ensure that the justice system works as intended by our Constitution.”

Doing the duty in federal court still pays better, with U.S. District Court in D.C. now granting a $50 per diem and $7 as daily travel allowance.

Dissatisfaction among some D.C. Superior Court jurors went beyond mere pay rates.

In 2017, a multi-million dollar federal lawsuit claimed jurors faced fees and inconvenience from the JP Morgan Chase Bank debit card used to pay them and that the system violated a federal prohibition against requiring people to have an account with a particular bank to receive a government benefit. The lawsuit, which also involved other jurisdictions, was settled without a trial. Chase Bank was sending checks in late 2018 to repay jurors for lost money, with the two main individual plaintiffs set to each receive up to $5,000. The debit cards were issued under the U.S. Treasury Department’s U.S. Debit Card program. The bank’s lawyers argued that, as an agent of the federal agency, the bank held “derivative sovereign immunity” and that the agency approved the fee schedule.

There’s a new name now on the debit card, MetaBank. It’s still tied to the Treasury’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service program, and restrictions on use and a fee schedule are still in place, including: $1.50 inactivity fee charged for three months with no use; $2 for ATM withdrawals out of network; 25 cents for ATM balance inquiry; $7.50 for card replacement ($24.50 additional charge for expedited delivery); $7.50 bank/teller over the counter cash withdrawal. Should a dispute arise, the 16-page debit card agreement also includes a waiver of one’s Constitutional right to a trial by jury.

In the past, jurors in D.C. Superior Court have been able to collect travel allowances in cash from a kiosk in the courthouse and other payments have been made by check. DC Courts documents have stated simply that the debit card system “enhances overall convenience” and mitigates opportunities for waste, fraud and abuse.

DC Courts documents projected the full annual cost of implementation for the higher jury service pay to be about $512,000. The additional money was part of the annual request to Congress for funding.