Sunday, March 16, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
Jury trials are the time-honored way to resolve disputes and administer justice.
But there is a hefty price tag attached to the jury trials conducted by the 16 Clark County District Court judges.
In 1996, Clark County spent nearly $400,000 just to bring in jury panels to decide the 243 trials that spanned 1,281 days in court.
That amounts to $392 per day, or $1,830 per case, for the 145 criminal trials and $245 per day, or $1,358 per case, for the 98 civil trials that require eight instead of 12 jurors and generally last fewer days.
Jury costs, however, are only one expenditure at a trial.
District Court Administrator Chuck Short said it costs an estimated $500 an hour for a criminal trial and $300 an hour for civil cases for the judge, court staff and other in-court expenses.
Short noted, however, that administrative and facility expenses and the inevitable and costly appeal process -- including trial transcripts in criminal cases -- are not included in his estimate.
The district judges have estimated that when they have a trial, they spend 5 1/2 hours a day in court. That means that criminal trials in 1996 cost more than $2 million and the civil trials cost nearly $900,000.
Adding in jury costs, the daily tab for a criminal trial is more than $3,100 a day. Civil trials run taxpayers about $1,900 a day.
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