Taxpayers foot £4m jury bill
It is feared the bill could rise even further if plans to close down almost one third of sheriff courts across Scotland are given the go-ahead.
In the last year alone, a total of £4.4m was paid to jurors attending trials at Scotland’s courts.
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Hide AdThe Court of Session in Edinburgh also paid out £277,650 in expenses to its jurors.
Over the last three years, the Scottish Court Service has paid out a total of £13.6m to cover jurors’ travel, loss of earnings, food and childminding costs.
Robert Oxley, campaign manager at the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “Juries are an important part of our legal system and there will always be costs involved.”