Published 10:00 am Friday, May 1, 2026 What happens when you get a summons to appear for jury duty? Are you thrilled? Do you think it’s a scam? “The greatest service of citizenship is jury duty,” Abraham Lincoln said. For many Oregonians, it feels more like a disruption of income, privacy and life. The number of people who fail to respond to summons has been rising. It’s at almost 33%. The number of people requesting to be excused has also increased. The Oregon Legislature created a task force to look at ways to lower barriers to jury service. It’s supposed to come up with recommendations by the end of the year. One issue it is looking at is compensation. As many as half of jurors in Deschutes County have told county staff that serving on a jury is a financial hardship. The pay is low — $10 a day for the first two days of service and $25 a day for each day thereafter. Jurors can get mileage for the trip to the courthouse at 20 cents per mile.…