Jury Service
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Soldato
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Anyone got a screen grab of the full article?
Soldato
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I loved doing jury service, in 3 cases I got to send down 2 people and let off another. One guys friend got so annoyed he launched an attack towards us.
Weirdest part was mixing in the pub with all the Lawyers, defendants and witnesses at lunchtime.
Weirdest part was mixing in the pub with all the Lawyers, defendants and witnesses at lunchtime.
Yeah that would be super annoying/frustrating on top of any other issues. I mean ideally, if you have to do it, then it would be good to be able to send down a few scumbags at least.
Associate
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Don't know what anything of it is remotely like. Entirely new to it as have never been called up. My late father has been summoned a few times (despite a language barrier, which got him dismissed every time because obviously he wasn't allowed a translator). My mother has been summoned I believe once, but was also dismissed for identical reasons. Rest of family have been summoned as well but they did their job. Only I've not ever been called.
That seems a valid excuse to be honest.
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Soldato
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There's a lot of sitting around waiting to be called for a case. I think out of the 10 working days there, I spent around 4 days in court.
It's not so good if your pay is impacted. Many people are their own bosses and don't earn if they don't work.
I've done it. It's mainly boring. You might not even be in a jury. You will be waiting a lot.
It should be. It's a serious responsibility and you're not going to get a definitive marking of your answer from someone who absolutely definitely knows the right answer. It's not like most tests you'll face in your life, where the answer is known for certain. I still sometimes wonder if I gave the correct verdict. Sure, I was only 1 of 12 and I had listened to the evidence and I was and am sure I gave the right verdict given the evidence...but how could I be absolutely certain it was the correct verdict? Was there evidence I wasn't aware of? Definitely, since there wasn't multiple angle hi res video of the alleged offence with everything shown clearly and proven to be unedited. Was I swayed by the arguments of the lawyers on each side? Of course - that's their job. I paid attention, took it with due seriousness and weighed the evidence I had to the best of my ability...but I'm not omniscient. I'm sure I gave the right verdict, but I know I'm not omniscient and infallible. You're making a decision that will have a huge impact on at least 1 person's life. That should weigh heavily on you.
Also...when did these forums become a web chat room and how come I haven't noticed?
Soldato
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Funny isn't it I've never known anybody get called up, ever. Then out of the blue I did.
They paid me my offshore day rate at the time, I made an absolute killing and got 7 weeks off work...I was very happy. My company livid. But I was already looking to stop working off shore as I hated the lifestyle.
Strange comment on that article. I’ve always advocated jury service as being really interesting and suggested people do it rather than try and get out of it and I’m not the only one who follows that line.
But I suppose these hack journalists will always twist things to appear how they want.
But I suppose these hack journalists will always twist things to appear how they want.
Rise in jury-dodging down to online chat, judge warns
Jonathan Ames, Legal Editor
July 23 2019, 12:01am, The Times
Online chat rooms are fostering the view that people can produce standard reasons for avoiding jury serviceALAMY
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A senior judge has expressed exasperation with the excuses people make to avoid doing jury duty, blaming online culture for encouraging them.
Judge Andrew Menary, QC, the recorder of Liverpool, blamed online chat rooms for fostering the view among the public that they can produce standard reasons that will allow them to avoid doing their civic duty.
He expressed his frustration as he fined a man who refused to do jury duty the maximum penalty.
Barry Grimes, 70, was ordered to pay £1,000 for producing a string of unacceptable excuses for failing to attend Liverpool crown court. Grimes, from Bromborough in the Wirral, refused to serve as a juror and then failed to attend his contempt of court hearing, according to BBC News.
He failed to attend court for jury service that was initially scheduled for January last year. His service was deferred until this month, but again Grimes was absent.
He is understood to have told officials that he was incapable of sitting down for long periods and that he was unable to concentrate. However, when he was told that he would need to provide a valid medical certificate, Grimes said that he was generally unfit and would not attend.
On another occasion, Grimes said that the scheduled jury service conflicted with a holiday he had already booked, but the judge also rejected that excuse. In the judge’s view, Grimes “displayed a wholly unpleasant and unnecessary attitude” and his approach was “a quite deliberate contempt of court”.
Grimes has 28 days to pay the fine. If he fails, he could be jailed for 14 days.
Fining Grimes, the judge bemoaned a rising frequency he said he had seen in people ignoring jury summonses and refusing to sit.
He said that many people were turning to chat rooms for tips on dodging doing their duty.
One web chat room called OverclockersUK, and a Yahoo chat forum, for example, list tips for avoiding jury service.
Prospective jurors who feel that they should be let off the hook must contact the jury central summoning bureau for a deferral or to be excused entirely.
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Soldato
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Just wait until they see the TV licencing thread!