[Help] Jury Summons - Jury Service

US Seagull · Oct 18, 2024

I did forget to say, after being dismissed from the pool of potential jurors, the judge stopped me on the way out.

He asked me which team I supported. Apparently he has a son-in-law (IIRC) who's a Sheffield United fan. I choose not to share any opinion on them. Wouldn't want to get slapped with contempt on the way out.

mile oak · Oct 18, 2024

wow and a huge thanks for everyone on here for their input. I am attempting to be excluded for good. I have actually done this many times before including one trial that lasted several months (Seriously) I was excused for a while after (no call up) but clearly thats over now. It seems overly unfair on the self-employed (or arguably anyone out of work wanting to work) because the pay you get is ridiculously low (could be as low as £30 a day) even the fiver for food bearing in mind you could be there all day (and sometimes it a lock-in you cant go out) is appalling. I'm encouraged by a post saying to the judge being in court was costing him a fortune in lost earnings, but it seems there is no cut and dry get out of 'jail' card unless you are in jail of course. Some of my previous court jury service was awful stuff old men, raincoats, children etc., I will say no more as it was sickening and it was horrible to also see the effects it was having on some jury members. If I do have to do the service I sincerely hope its a parking fine unpaid but somehow I doubt it. No disrespect to anyone suffering a parking fine - yeah been there got a T shit can be awful too.

dsr-burnley · Oct 18, 2024

Algernon said:
Genuinely I was called for jury service when I was close to 7 years old.
My parents went mad at me asking what I'd done to receive a letter from the courts before realising it was a request to sit on a jury.
I presume I'll never get called now.

At a guess, your parents forgot tick the "under 17" box on the electoral roll form. Did you get a voting card that year as well?

mile oak · Oct 18, 2024

dsr-burnley said:
At a guess, your parents forgot tick the "under 17" box on the electoral roll form. Did you get a voting card that year as well?

When the window in the envelope says "Summons" in bold letters it did at first get me worried until I read it properly! Whoever folded that letter and stuffed it inside the envelope didn't do my heart beat any good picking the letter outta the letter box!

mile oak · Oct 18, 2024

Bozza said:
The key thing is when you have been called for.

If it's some time away, you can defer and you'll be permitted without challenge, but you'll have to give future dates you can and will attend.

A second deferment is very difficult to achieve, although I am currently in the position of having done just that. As such, there's almost nothing that will get me out of serving next June.

If your service commences in the next week or so then you will find it more difficult. Jury administration is handed from the central service to the local court (Lewes if you're in these parts). To defer at that stage you will probably have to provide some sort of evidence to back up your reason.

You have done well there to get a 2nd deferment. If I get a deferment I'm thinking I need insurance (for jury call up) but not sure I can obtain any as it will be a known outcome though hopefully I could at least obtain this with holiday plans or I might have to make do with a last minute deal (and probably pay more and less choice etc as a result) to avoid any clashes.

mile oak · Oct 18, 2024

Flounce said:
How irreplaceable are you in your work? If it’s a small company you may be able to swing it, if not I suggest you are fecked. Unless you turn up confused and mobility challenged.

I have done some research tonight and during covid (jury service was just stacked up) key workers were excluded which also meant food chain and education sector workers didn't have to do jury service. What does this all mean a Tesco delivery driver can be excluded but an Occupational Health therapist or Pharmacist cant?

Easy 10 · Oct 18, 2024

mile oak said:
I'm encouraged by a post saying to the judge being in court was costing him a fortune in lost earnings, but it seems there is no cut and dry get out of 'jail' card

I'm guessing you're right, its very much at the judges discretion. This was going into the third week of what was (supposed) to be a 2 week commitment, although of course it all depends on how the current case was panning out. Once it became apparent we were all back again on Monday to continue, I think the judge made a fair call to let this guy go. But its not something you could count on.

This was a case of GBH, so although serious, it was at the lower end of the scale. I can't imagine there being much wiggle room on crimes at the more heinous end of the spectrum.

South Stand Bonfire · Oct 18, 2024

I’ve done it twice, once at Lewes and once in Brighton. Quite a lot of waiting around unfortunately and you can defer it once. Parts were interesting but parts were very boring when the same incident was questioned but from different witnesses view points. If I was you I would get it over and done with as soon as you can. The first case I did was a low level drugs crime with all the best places in Brighton to buy drugs described. Which was useful.

Sergei's Celebration · Oct 18, 2024

I got a deferment with a letter from my CO because I was going to Afghanistan.

Have you thought about joining the Army?

Done three cases since.

dazzer6666 · Oct 18, 2024

US Seagull said:
So now that I'm curious, I had to start googling for how UK juries work:

Understanding the jury selection process – Inside HMCTS

News and updates from the HM Courts & Tribunals Service

insidehmcts.blog.gov.uk

Okay, so they select a panel, same as here, and then select a jury from that panel, but at random? I have to assume they must at least ask potential jurors if they personally know the defendant, the victim, or any of the counsel don't they?

So here they select 12 (for a criminal trial, apparently only 8 for a civil trial) and also 2 alternates. The alternates are supposed to sit in on the whole trial, but they don't get in on the deliberations unless one of the original 12 jurors is unable to continue for whatever reason (like the reason the guy on your jury had).
The judge also asked everybody if they had any scheduling conflicts before the jury was selected. I'm sure some people were excused for that too. They told us the trial would likely last into this week (since Monday was a holiday and the judge, apparently, had a scheduling conflict for last Thursday). I've been checking the court website and it seems like they've only gotten into closing arguments today.

Pretty sure when I sat the initial selection was 15, we were then called into court and the names of those involved were read out and any of us needed to declare if we had any potential conflicts. One of those selected said her grandson was a friend of one of the kids that had been robbed so she was excused, then the final 12 were selected

Weststander · Oct 18, 2024

Easy 10 said:
Oh I absolutely had her guilty, she's an absolute LOON. Check out the article below. Here she is holding a vibrator to her crotch outside court.

Neighbour from hell jailed over bottle attack

A WOMAN described as the neighbour from hell was jailed for two years after smashing a bottle over the head of a man in her flat.

www.theargus.co.uk

3 or 4 of the other jurors didn't believe there was enough evidence to disprove her claims of the bottle attack being in self defence. It was frustrating, but they weren't for swaying. I Googled her name after the trial, and lo and behold, she had a charge sheet as long as your arm (and is still going strong it would seem, now I've checked her out again!). As the article says, the next jury took an hour to find her guilty. We were chewing over it for more than a couple of days.

Cheers. One reason I asked was that one jury I sat on was for mid 20’s males who’d viciously attacked people in a mid Sussex town in the early hours. The circumstantial evidence included a brief summary of their recent other conviction for something almost identical (a newish piece of legislation at the time).

We had a couple of waverers but after a day or two the vocal ones amongst us explained why it ticked all the boxes for GBH. I’d made notes of the judges directions on points of law, definitions. Everyone agreed in the end.

I rang 4 weeks later, sentencing is often later, and they both got 6 years. Turns out one of them had left an overseas disabled guy with brain damage after a street attack in the same town a year before. At our trial that defendant had come from Lewes Prison each day, but you wouldn’t know as he was wearing a suit at the second trial.

Gawd it was satisfying once knowing all that.

southstandandy · Oct 18, 2024

I avoided it due to be being a carer for an ill relative. Very simple.

portslade seagull · Oct 18, 2024

Done it years ago lasted about 3 and a half weeks. Some of the others called up went to 6 weeks as had a baby killer trial ( glad I missed that ). We were at the time allowed to claim for our companies lost expenses which was £65 a day. When I received the cheque I handed it to my manager who basically said I've no idea what you do with that and gave it back. Left it in my bank for 1yr and then paid for a holiday

BNthree · Oct 18, 2024

Got called for jury service once about 20 years ago. Thing was the letter went to an old address. I happened to be passing about 6 months after I’d moved out and someone from one of the other flats saw me and said there’s a pile of post for me. The jury letter was in there and I’d missed the date. Never did anything about it and have never heard anything about it either.

pasty · Oct 18, 2024

I've been called twice and never done it. First time my boss wrote to them saying I could not be released from work, and second time I had a pre-booked holiday for the dates I was called for.

Arthur · Oct 18, 2024

Just tell them you've been to prison....works like a charm.

AK74 · Oct 18, 2024

Turn up in a t-shirt with 'Bring Back Hanging' emblazoned on the front.

Madafwo · Oct 18, 2024

Got called up about 20 years ago, deferred it once as I was moving north that week, was deferred for about a year but they kept it for down here. Had to sit through 2 trials, both thrown out. Can't remember the first one but the 2nd one was for a sexual assault, horrible to sit through.

They were both within the first week, the 2nd week we didn't get anything, one day I popped to the toilet and put my headphones in, came out and the room was empty, apparently the Jury had been dismissed but I hadn't heard it, so I was in an otherwise empty room on my own for a couple of hours before someone found me, as we were told not to leave the holding area. If I get called I again I won't be making that mistake again.

jcdenton08 · Oct 18, 2024

Arthur said:
Just tell them you've been to prison....works like a charm.

Convicts can serve on a jury, in some situations (if not sentenced to life or more than five years in prison), as long as more than 7 or 10 years depending on the crime have passed. Some crimes make you exempt, however.

jcdenton08 · Oct 18, 2024

AK74 said:
Turn up in a t-shirt with 'Bring Back Hanging' emblazoned on the front.

And get held in contempt of court. It could be fun to see things from the other side of the justice system, though?

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