[Misc] Jury Service

[Easy 10]

I've been SUMMONSED next month. Always quite fancied it tbh, I'm curious to see the whole judicial process first hand. Big fan of 12 Angry Men. Anyone here done it before ? OBVIOUSLY I'm aware the case cannot be discussed, so I won't be revisiting this thread once the case kicks off (assuming I'm not weeded out at the selection stage anyway). But I'd be very interested to hear of anyone elses experiences with this important civic duty.

 

[The Andy Naylor Fan Club]

I've been SUMMONSED next month. Always quite fancied it tbh, I'm curious to see the whole judicial process first hand. Big fan of 12 Angry Men. Anyone here done it before ? OBVIOUSLY I'm aware the case cannot be discussed, so I won't be revisiting this thread once the case kicks off (assuming I'm not weeded out at the selection stage anyway). But I'd be very interested to hear of anyone elses experiences with this important civic duty.

You sure that you're not the defendant?

 

[thedonkeycentrehalf]

Most boring two weeks of my life. Make sure you take plenty of reading material. I spent most of the two weeks shut in a room waiting to be assigned a case and then let home midway through the afternoon. Only got two cases - the first one didn't last long with a huge amount of evidence against the accused, the second one we all got settled and then the defendant changed his plea to guilty and we all traipsed out again!

Hope yours is more interesting.

 

[WilburySeagull]

Lots of sitting around and waiting! You may or may not get a case to hear. For each case they select 15 people but only 12 are finally selected at random. Where are you summonsed to? Courts have different sorts of cases. Normally you serve for up to 2 weeks but length of cases varies from 1 day to many weeks. Take plenty to read to fill the time you are not in court.

 

[AmexRuislip]

I've been SUMMONSED next month. Always quite fancied it tbh, I'm curious to see the whole judicial process first hand. Big fan of 12 Angry Men. Anyone here done it before ? OBVIOUSLY I'm aware the case cannot be discussed, so I won't be revisiting this thread once the case kicks off (assuming I'm not weeded out at the selection stage anyway). But I'd be very interested to hear of anyone elses experiences with this important civic duty.

Well worth it IMO
I did two weeks at the Old Bailey, a year ago next month.
Did three cases, which were really interesting, you also get to meet others from different walks of life.
I did try to volunteer for a 3 month case, but too many also tried that

 

[dazzer6666]

I've been SUMMONSED next month. Always quite fancied it tbh, I'm curious to see the whole judicial process first hand. Big fan of 12 Angry Men. Anyone here done it before ? OBVIOUSLY I'm aware the case cannot be discussed, so I won't be revisiting this thread once the case kicks off (assuming I'm not weeded out at the selection stage anyway). But I'd be very interested to hear of anyone elses experiences with this important civic duty.

Did it in Lewes a few years ago. Really, really interesting providing you’re on a decent case (I did two, first lasted 8 days and the second 1.5 so was lucky to be fully occupied for the two weeks). There is quite a bit of hanging around, you might not get selected and even if you’re on a case that is progressing it might keep getting held up as the judges continually need to halt proceedings. Not long days - longest we did was about 9.30-4. Will be loads of you available initially, they then whittle you down to 15 I think for each case, then you go into court for the names of those involved to be read out to make sure none of you have any conflict of interest. If not, another 3 are then removed (back to the waiting room where you start the whole selection process again) to make up the 12.

Jury likely of course to be a good cross-section of society, which also makes things interesting [emoji23][emoji23]

 

[Algernon]

I was 8 years old when I was called (by letter) for Jury service.
My old man didn't read the letter properly, thought I'd been summonsed and went mad at me asking what I'd done.

So: Called but ultimately not needed.
I'd like to do it now but I think I've had my chance.

 

[jevs]

Make sure you've got the links to plenty of grot sites on your phone. Sit there and watch the smut for 2 weeks then find the f u c k a guilty, whether he did it or not.

Thank me later

 

[Weststander]

I served on two juries in September 2016 at Hove.

I got lucky and only ever sat out one day unpicked (the service calls up far too many people, to add randomness to final jury selected).

Loved it. Got on well with my co jurors, a real insight into a great legal system, both judges were highly impressive, the human dynamics of the jury in the jury room was fascinating (the mix of personalities, 'political' leanings, leaders, attempted bullies, etc).

A measly financial allowance to compensate for lost income, but I'd do it all over again.

I went away with satisfaction that both verdicts were correct. In the second trial two really unpleasant young men from Mid Sussex got very long sentences for GBH. (They already had a string of convictions, one for leaving a young innocent guy, brain damaged in a wheelchair for life). You find out the verdicts at a later date ... the courts ask you to ring in, to square the circle.

 

[LamieRobertson]

What you really want is a complex fraud case that goes on about a year

 

[Westdene Seagull]

I enjoyed it when I did it. First week did a case of a bloke who was accused of stealing a lawnmower from a shed. Really rather funny as he was half deaf and so everyone had to shout because he kept forgetting his hearing aid .... no doubt on purpose. Sent him down ! After finding him guilty his previous was read out and he'd been in and out of prison for 30 odd years. The jury discussion was frustrating though as there were two women who said they believed him to be guilty but weren't prepared to vote that way just in case they were wrong/

Second week I was sworn in the hear a rape case. The jury were dismissed after 20 minutes but were told we couldn't be told why.

It can be boring waiting around but the court process is interesting. Take a good book !

 

[Easy 10]

You sure that you're not the defendant?

There's about a month to go, so who knows. I could be in the dock AND the jury. How cool would that be

 

[Weststander]

What you really want is a complex fraud case that goes on about a year

Did you serve as a juror?

 

[Hillian1]

Was on for the same two weeks as somebody I knew, she sat in the jury room for the whole 2 weeks and got nothing, I did 3.

Strange thing is I was probably more sensible for those 2 weeks than I have been in my entire adult life.

 

[AmexRuislip]

Was on for the same two weeks as somebody I knew, she sat in the jury room for the whole 2 weeks and got nothing, I did 3.

Strange thing is I was probably more sensible for those 2 weeks than I have been in my entire adult life.

Similar here, found out there was a person on my jury for two cases, that lives just round the corner from me!

 

[Postman Pat]

My wife did it before Xmas, case lasted 5 weeks and wasn't very pleasant, involved child abuse and neglect, kids similar age to our grandchildren.

She spent ages sitting around and then had a jury chairman who refused to vote the same way as all the other jurors and insisted in discussing everything in great detail and asking the judge questions, so dragged out deliberations for a week when it should have been two days.

Defendants got jailed for a long time.

As a result she no longer has to do jury service again.

 

[Trevor]

Yes, I always wanted to do it and got selected quite near a bank holiday. The nearest I got to the court room was that 15 of us were ready to go - but the case didn't go ahead. We had seen people coming into the court house drunk so imagined that witnesses had been nobbled. I hope I get called again one day.

 

[Diablo]

Really enjoyed it....Did nightclub brawl where doorman had been glassed....Employee nicking money from till and a drunk thief who claimed he broke into house thinking it was his !! nothing to unpleasant.

 

[jessiejames]

Really enjoyed my 2 weeks, 4 days on first case, sworn in on 2nd then we were all dismissed.

 

[dejavuatbtn]

I did it ar Lewes some years ago. Unfortunately there were too many on the jury I was on who were more interested in getting home quickly, rather than debate the evidence. This was the one case I had in two weeks and it was over in a day.
Hope you get on an interesting case with intetesting people.