OAKLAND — Serving on a jury in Alameda County just became a lot harder on the wallet.

Gov. Gavin Newsom unexpectedly cut funding for a two-year pilot program that boosted Alameda County jurors’ daily reimbursement rates to $100 a day, the Alameda County Superior Court system announced Thursday. The move — detailed in the governor’s May revised budget — means jurors here will once again go back to receiving $15 a day for their service.

Alameda County Public Defender Brendan Woods immediately slammed the cut as “disheartening and cruel.” Compensation has routinely been one of the biggest barriers to people serving on juries, and he had lauded the pilot program as a key means for lower-income residents to serve on juries with greater regularity.

“It’s devastating — it’s absolutely shameful

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