- Aug 7, 2003
- 8,075
A colleague of mine had two weeks of jury service recently, both cases were of child abuse. He said it was a very unpleasant experience.
[Misc] Jury Service
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jakarta
Well-known member
Mrs Jakarta did Jury service in Lewes in the late 1980's regarding a drugs case in Brighton.
Suffice it to say Sussex Police f*cked up in big style and a clearly guilty defendant got off on technicalities which should have been picked up by the CPS before the Trial.
The Judge was not impressed & spent most of his summing up explaining their failings!
Suffice it to say Sussex Police f*cked up in big style and a clearly guilty defendant got off on technicalities which should have been picked up by the CPS before the Trial.
The Judge was not impressed & spent most of his summing up explaining their failings!
vegster
Sanity Clause
- May 5, 2008
- 28,267
I always fancied being called up for this but so far it has eluded me, time's running out now. My brother in law got called up for it and ended up doing 3 weeks in Chichester doing a drugs case. they brought the drugs round as an exhibit and he was shocked when the jury were told the street value.
Two Professors
Two Mad Professors
Make sure you take any warnings from the staff seriously.There was a contractor working on the hearing-aid system in our courtroom,his mobile rang,next thing he's in the cells for contempt.Not a happy judge!Take reading material,and find out the first day what you can claim for,and what receipts they require.Food was surprisingly good as the kitchens also fed the judges.Take some change for the vending machines/lockers.Hope you have an interesting time.Oh,and don't discuss the case with anybody other than your fellow jurors!
pasty
A different kind of pasty
Been called up twice but never done it. Was about 16 years ago now I think, and my then boss wrote to the court saying he did not want to let me off work as I was working on an important project. The court ok'd that but said they would just defer the call up, which they did, but when I was recalled, I had a pre-booked foreign holiday for the dates they wanted me, so got excused again. Never heard anything since.
Did a 6 week murder trial at the Old Bailey. Absolutely fascinating experience, and got a behind scenes tour of the building which was fantastic.
Met some fantastic people, but it really was a tough thing to do and deal with. The footage/testimonies is very difficult to come to terms with, and then the weight of deciding the defendant's future, and the knock on impact on families etc (of both victims and defendants) was a heavy weight to bear.
We spent 5 days deliberating - we were allowed 5/10 minutes per day of 'fresh air', lunch delivered to the room, 1 toilet for all of us to use basically as an en suite. Got pretty tense in there!
Met some fantastic people, but it really was a tough thing to do and deal with. The footage/testimonies is very difficult to come to terms with, and then the weight of deciding the defendant's future, and the knock on impact on families etc (of both victims and defendants) was a heavy weight to bear.
We spent 5 days deliberating - we were allowed 5/10 minutes per day of 'fresh air', lunch delivered to the room, 1 toilet for all of us to use basically as an en suite. Got pretty tense in there!
albionfan37
Well-known member
I got called up just after my 18th to Southwark cc got 2 cases not very interesting and hung around like a bad smell most of the day
One claim to fame if anyone remembers a docu regarding a milwall fan made probably early 90s I was on with him as I recall quite a nice fella
One claim to fame if anyone remembers a docu regarding a milwall fan made probably early 90s I was on with him as I recall quite a nice fella
Lindfield23
Well-known member
- Dec 14, 2016
- 772
surlyseagull
Well-known member
- Aug 23, 2008
- 848
Done it twice and been called up three times ,I was called up the third time within a year of other service so was excused .
Bit of an eye opener as didn't realise just how thick some jurors could be ,as one woman on jury said "he looks guilty to me ,have you seen his tattoo on his neck " fooook in ell I kid you not .
Bit of an eye opener as didn't realise just how thick some jurors could be ,as one woman on jury said "he looks guilty to me ,have you seen his tattoo on his neck " fooook in ell I kid you not .
Excellent experience. Make the most of it.
I did two cases, one involving a bunch of lads who poured out the back of a minibus and beat someone up. Took a day or so, and so obviously guilty I wondered who advised them to plead the opposite.
The next case lasted four weeks, four days of which was in the jury room. It was a complex series of burglaries (hundreds), with the stuff nicked being sold on Brighton Market (the old Sunday one up by the station). It also involved dangerous driving and resisting arrest. The prosecution spent about four days on this latter bit, which was a waste of time - as when they went to arrest him, the bloke drove through the low barriers of a car park onto the Coast Road in Southwick, so it was a no brainer. Trouble was, they spent so much effort on this, they spent less time on the main case. This got more confused because early on in the trial, the lady involved changed her plea to guilty, but said the bloke wasn't involved. So the prosecution then weren't really able to plod on withe their prepared case (pun intended).
At the end of it all, as a jury we couldn't agree (even split) - and I think it fair to say that if we had the Scottish option of 'not proven' that would have done the trick.
So, there was a retrial, which took longer, and this time it was only about the burglaries, and only about him, so I suspect the prosecution provided more evidence (I wasn't there, but it was reported on local telly a bit). He got 11 years.
By an odd co-incidence, about 15 years after the trials I got in a cab in town, and the cabbie was a guy on the jury with whom I had shared lifts with quite a lot. He told me that when the burglar came out, he killed his partner (she who had tried to save him from going down), and got life. Not much honour amongst thieves there.
I found the whole experience fascinating. But the one thing that sticks in my mind was one of the jurors basically saying 'don't believe x, he dresses like an Italian' - and that was about the level of analysis that particular juror brought to the whole thing. So, I would advise, that even if you are bored (and bits are terribly boring), pay attention and think about what's going on. You'll find it well worthwhile. And take notes.
I'm now a regular participant in Public Inquiries, and think I bring some of what I learned back then into what I do.
Also, if you get involved in a case that relies on people's memories of an event, beware. I went on an investigative interviewing course a few years back, and it was intriguing to find out just how questions can be phrased in a way that elicits different answers - and barristers are very good at this. This is well worth a read http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8617945.stm.
And take notes!
I did two cases, one involving a bunch of lads who poured out the back of a minibus and beat someone up. Took a day or so, and so obviously guilty I wondered who advised them to plead the opposite.
The next case lasted four weeks, four days of which was in the jury room. It was a complex series of burglaries (hundreds), with the stuff nicked being sold on Brighton Market (the old Sunday one up by the station). It also involved dangerous driving and resisting arrest. The prosecution spent about four days on this latter bit, which was a waste of time - as when they went to arrest him, the bloke drove through the low barriers of a car park onto the Coast Road in Southwick, so it was a no brainer. Trouble was, they spent so much effort on this, they spent less time on the main case. This got more confused because early on in the trial, the lady involved changed her plea to guilty, but said the bloke wasn't involved. So the prosecution then weren't really able to plod on withe their prepared case (pun intended).
At the end of it all, as a jury we couldn't agree (even split) - and I think it fair to say that if we had the Scottish option of 'not proven' that would have done the trick.
So, there was a retrial, which took longer, and this time it was only about the burglaries, and only about him, so I suspect the prosecution provided more evidence (I wasn't there, but it was reported on local telly a bit). He got 11 years.
By an odd co-incidence, about 15 years after the trials I got in a cab in town, and the cabbie was a guy on the jury with whom I had shared lifts with quite a lot. He told me that when the burglar came out, he killed his partner (she who had tried to save him from going down), and got life. Not much honour amongst thieves there.
I found the whole experience fascinating. But the one thing that sticks in my mind was one of the jurors basically saying 'don't believe x, he dresses like an Italian' - and that was about the level of analysis that particular juror brought to the whole thing. So, I would advise, that even if you are bored (and bits are terribly boring), pay attention and think about what's going on. You'll find it well worthwhile. And take notes.
I'm now a regular participant in Public Inquiries, and think I bring some of what I learned back then into what I do.
Also, if you get involved in a case that relies on people's memories of an event, beware. I went on an investigative interviewing course a few years back, and it was intriguing to find out just how questions can be phrased in a way that elicits different answers - and barristers are very good at this. This is well worth a read http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8617945.stm.
And take notes!
Weststander
Well-known member
We had a couple of 'hang em' jurors who made up their minds after simply seeing the very young defendent for the first time.
They were reined in over the coming days, as we carefully went through the evidence and legal directions from the judge.
Jack Straw
I look nothing like him!
Was the shed covered in strange lumps, and why didn't they take the yellow bow-saw?
Jam The Man
Well-known member
Got called up once but was exempt so I had to decline.
The rules changed soon after so if I get called again, I’ll be able to serve.
The rules changed soon after so if I get called again, I’ll be able to serve.
Durlston
"You plonker, Rodney!"
No, don't think I'll ever get called up unless it's by Gareth Southgate.
Not if you're only worth 3p
I suspect I've been whooshed but ..... eh ??
Thunder Bolt
Silly old bat
I was exempt for a similar reason to you, but I only have to get to August now, to be too old. I don't think they raised the age limit a couple of years ago.