Sweetwater County Is Short $50K For Jury Trials After Flurry Of Cases

Sweetwater County is short of money for juries and trials after an unexpected rush of trials drained the district court clerk's operating budget.

The County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday approved an additional $50,000 for the Sweetwater County District Court Clerk’s operating budget to help remedy the shortfall.

Accounting Specialist Rebecca Romero brought the proposal before the board, citing “unanticipated expenditures” that led to the shortage of cash. 

She said the funds would cover jurors’ fees ahead of a large upcoming civil trial later this year.

“This $50,000 budget amendment to the Jury (Other) account is necessary to cover statutory juror compensation and related costs for ongoing and upcoming jury trials (9/22, 10/6, 10/7, 10/13, and a multi-week civil trial in November),” Romero wrote in a request document. 

 A recent two-week civil trial in Sweetwater County cost the county over $10,000 in expenses, the document added. It also acknowledged another ongoing trial continues to rack up expenses after reaching its fifth day.  

“This amendment prevents account depletion and ensures uninterrupted jury service, with additional jury trials also scheduled in 2026,” the document added.

Commission Chairman Keaton West acknowledged during Tuesday’s meeting he had received a phone call from Clerk of District Court Donna Bobak about the budget request, whom he said explained that the extra expenses were required due to an increased number of jury trials compared to previous years.

“She did say it’s kind of an unknown, they just average this budget item year over year depending on what’s going on and how many trials they have,” West said of his conversation with Bobak during the meeting. “Obviously this year they’re way ahead as far as the quantity of those.”

West added that Bobak mentioned to him the board had the option to reduce those funds to $25,000 and reevaluate the need for additional funds later, though the board did not see this as necessary. It went on to approve the additional funds unanimously without discussion.

Witnesses Too 

West provided Cowboy State Daily with a screenshot of an email he received from Bobak in September, showing her initial concerns that the operating budget could run dry. 

“We just finished a two-week civil trial and this trial is in its fifth day,” Bobak wrote in that email. “The two-week trial cost over $10,000 and that doesn’t include their meals or snacks.”

Wyoming state law mandates jurors be paid $30 per day for their service plus mileage if they live outside five-mile radius of the court. Bobak acknowledged in her email that Sweetwater County pays jurors $50 per day after serving for five days, which state law leaves to the discretion of individual courts. 

Wyoming also selects one extra juror, known as an alternate, in the event a juror is unable to continue a trial. These individuals attend the entire trial but are dismissed before deliberations begin, meaning Sweetwater County must accommodate 13 jurors.

Bobak told Cowboy State Daily the county has seen an unprecedented number of jury cases go to trial lately, rather than reaching settlements. She added the trials have become costly as of late, with one reaching six days and another stretching to nine days.

“As you know, many times the trial will settle at the nth hour; however, that has not been the case this fiscal budget session,” she wrote via email.

She added that the combined cost of the first three jury trials since June cost the county $22,700. This amount covered juror’s fees, mileage and witness fees, she said. 

“We provide coffee, water, soda and small snacks to the jury panel when they first arrive,” Bobak write. “Some jurors may suffer from various medical conditions that may require their need to have a small snack.”

Jurors are required to provide their own lunch during trial, she said. The county, however, is on the hook to provide lunch and dinner to jurors during deliberations. Bobak added the juror expenses also cover notebooks for jurors to take notes with during the trial, which she said can cost between $200 and $500.

“This is only the second time in my tenure of almost 16 years that I’ve had to request an increase in this budget item,” Bobak said.

In a nine-day civil trial in late August, a jury ruled against longtime family friends and former employees of the Cannon family, of Cannon Oil & Gas – and ruled in favor of the Cannons. The jury awarded Cannon Oil & Gas $3.9 million, plus $60,000 in punitive damages, the verdict says.

Then in early September, Sweetwater County District Court held a criminal jury trial in the case of Saviol Saint Jean.

Another criminal trial, of Robert Downum, was scheduled to open this month but that case settled last week.

‘It’s A Privilege’

Mara Sanger, who serves as Clerk of District Court for next-door Carbon County, told Cowboy State Daily it is not common that she will have to request additional funds for her juror expenses account. She also cited the fact that the amount of jury trials in Carbon County will vary on a yearly basis.

“I think Sweetwater County has had an above average amount of jury trials for district court,” she said. “I’m not sure about circuit court but I think they are having more than normal.”

“We haven’t had very many [jury trials],” she said. “Last year we had two or three, this year we had two so far.”

Sanger guessed Sweetwater may deal with a higher average number of court cases due to having two district court judges within its jurisdiction. While Sanger said Carbon County only has one district court judge, she said she has never had to request additional funds from the county, although she had gone over budget in the past. 

Sweetwater County has significantly more criminal cases than Carbon County.

She said Carbon County also provides its jurors with meals, snacks and notebooks while also observing the $20 daily bonus after five days. Sanger added Carbon County will even provide hotel rooms to those who request them.

While this may sound like a hassle, Sanger said she enjoys the privilege of working with juries.

“It’s a privilege,” she said. “It’s a part of my public service and part of my duty as clerk of district court is to take care of the jurors.”

“I try to take care of them because it’s not a convenient thing for anyone,” she added. “Never, ever is it convenient to serve on a jury for most citizens, but it is our civil duty to serve on a jury and I try to take care of our jurors fairly well, making it not an unpleasant experience.”

Jackson Walker can be reached at walker@cowboystatedaily.com.