Mine did, it was in the early 2000s.Does it arrive by signed/tracked delivery?
Jury Service (Do NOT turn this into a 'how to get out of jury service' thread)
- Thread starter jcr
- Start date
Mine wasn't in 2015. However, I did respond and I was excused.
Soldato
- Joined
- 21 Oct 2011
- Posts
- 22,430
- Location
- ST4
In all my years I've never been called once.
may as well just be tried by lay magistrates then. People who just want to show up and find whoever guilty. it’s incredibly important to be a juror. I would love to do jury service.
Soldato
- Joined
- 16 Aug 2009
- Posts
- 8,153
Its very random I've been called once no-one else I've ever met has been called ever
I think it would be reasonable to ask about covid measures if you're concerned and also reasonable to ask to postpone participation in it if you're at risk - like if you're in group 6 (for some medical condition) for example or over 50 etc.. then might be better to have had the vaccine before you participate.
Well the whole idea seems pretty outdated tbh... maybe made sense back in the day but these days if you have some complex fraud trial and you've got a bunch of jurors who can barely follow what has happened then what is the point?
They're supposed to determine the "truth" of some case or other but they're literally just random members of the public with no training.
I'd probably find it interesting and would do it if called upon but I don't see why it is "incredibly important" tbh... the impression I get from some people who've done it is that it can be a total farce in the jury room depending on who your fellow jurors are.
Well the whole idea seems pretty outdated tbh... maybe made sense back in the day but these days if you have some complex fraud trial and you've got a bunch of jurors who can barely follow what has happened then what is the point?
They're supposed to determine the "truth" of some case or other but they're literally just random members of the public with no training.
it’s incredibly important to be a juror. I would love to do jury service.
I'd probably find it interesting and would do it if called upon but I don't see why it is "incredibly important" tbh... the impression I get from some people who've done it is that it can be a total farce in the jury room depending on who your fellow jurors are.
Good luck with it tony, I was called some twenty odd years ago, I did my best to get out of it, to no avail.
Then, when I found out that I’d be paid about the cost of a coffee and a sandwich per day for my civic duty, I got a letter from my accountant specifying my per diem as a Black Cab driver, and took it to the Clerk of the Court’s office.
They rolled about laughing in the aisles, told me to dream on, and to turn up on the day.
So I turned up around 09.00, after parking my taxi in a N.C.P., got signed in, waited around to be called for a case, and was told to go most days around 14.30-15.00, I was only called for one case, which lasted a few hours.
As soon as I left every day, I picked up the taxi, put the TAXI light on, and did 5 or 6 hours to make my money up.
You have to get up very early in the morning to take advantage of a Black Cab driver.
Indeed I’ve been called up Monday @ Reading.
Got the text confirming it around 3.30 today - kinda last minute!
Out of interest, is your location Halfway, as in between Newbury and Hungerford?
you decide whether someone is guilty of something serious that they’ve been accused of which could well ruin their lives or deprive them of liberty. Important I would suggest.
people who turn up and treat it as a total joke are sad individuals.
so many people will say there’s no justice or stuff is unfair or that they’ve been wrongly accused or that they’ve been judged at various times in their lives. They will bleat about how everything is unfair, but take the attitude of some people referenced anecdotally by posters here. Often they won’t have been accused of anything particularly serious. Like covid deniers until they know someone who has been affected they won’t care.
it’s also fairest because not knowing the person keeps you impartial. A lay magistrate for instance doesn’t get paid but will sit there and become case hardened as they’ll have seen and heard it all and often be less sympathetic or willing to entertain doubt in a given scenario.
Heavy fraud cases are very tough on jurors though, although they’re not massively common. Perhaps one of the only case types one could consider alternatives to jury trial.
I thought you meant juries were important?
No one is arguing that the decision itself isn't important.
The issue isn't necessarily people treating it as a laugh rather just the notion that some random members of the public being final arbiters of the "truth" seems very dubious.
I've been called once, many years ago, and asked to stay on longer I enjoyed it so much.
But being called for the 5th or 6th time - that's ridiculous. Unless you genuinely want to do it, I'd be applying not to only defer, but be asked to be removed from the 'lottery' for life.
But being called for the 5th or 6th time - that's ridiculous. Unless you genuinely want to do it, I'd be applying not to only defer, but be asked to be removed from the 'lottery' for life.
Is it better than one old codger, hopelessly removed from the real life experiences of the general public, making judgements?
That guy is brown, I don't know any browns so mistrust him.
That woman is a poor, all the petty crime I've seen have been by poors.
That chap has a tattoo on his forearm, he must be a criminal.
I'm not saying it's a perfect system, but getting a consensus from a number of random people is better than a judge, or worse, a "professional" panel jurors...
I'm not sure it is, I reckon a pannel of old codgers would be better - perhaps three judges or something... I mean when it gets to the highest courts funnily enough we don't leave anything up to lay jurors in the end, we leave it to legal experts.
But lower courts these lay jurors are some magical element for determining the truth, of course, the process by which they do that needs to be completely secret, can't have any openness about why Sharron the Tesco checkout worker came to her conclusion, that might undermine things a bit...
No, Newcastle and Sunderland.
- Joined
- 30 Jul 2006
- Posts
- 12,130
It may already have been suggested but I suggest that you might buy a copy of "The Secret Barrister: Stories of the Law and How It's Broken" and take it along to read when called for Jury duty 
This is what happened with one (of the two) trials I was on. It was regarding the storage and sale of stolen/lost goods. The guy that worked their was accused of stealing a laptop and the evidence in my eyes, and one other Jury member, just wasn't good enough. I couldn't get past 'beyond a reasonable doubt', but all the others wanted to get it over and done with and get home. In the end, after going back into the court room twice and being told by the judge to come to a unanimous decision, we couldn't - so he called a mistrial - and that was that.
It's an immense responsibility and a lot of pressure from all directions, especially other jury members, but you have to stick to what you know and feel. And that's how the system is designed to work, I feel.
The other case was about tax and isle of man accounts, very dry, but I think would have been very interesting. I'm sure the defendants were guilty (that's wrong in oh so many ways), but as the star witness was beyond useless, couldn't say anything with any certainty, all maybe this, can't quite remember that, the judge stopped it all and they went free.
There was a lot of hanging around, but we had wifi, coffee, tea, food, a large room, so I enjoyed it. It was a break from work. I volunteered to stay on another week, but only managed an extra couple of days. Did just under 3 weeks in total.
To be honest I wouldnt mind been summoned, it would be interesting, I get the feeling its not random though if you have been picked 4 times.
I got picked once when very young, then my manager when I asked for the time off instead gave me an excuse to give them and I did what he said.
But yeah not good during covid, I think labour have proposed for smaller juries for this reason.
Caporegime
- Joined
- 8 Jan 2004
- Posts
- 32,835
- Location
- Rutland
If you pick people at random, some will be picked multiple times, some won't be picked at all. If everyone was picked the same number of times it'd very much not random.