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Original poster

Has anyone been on a jury of a very long trial?

188 replies

Zolf · 18/08/2023 18:41

Off the back of the Lucy Letby trial which lasted 10 months, I was wondering how it works logistically to be on a jury for that long? What happens if you have holidays booked? What if your employer don't pay you? I know mine wouldn't (very small company) and the compensation from the court is pitiful. Can't imagine being on a jury for that long!

OP posts:

OvaHere · 22/08/2023 21:34

I wouldn't mind doing it now I don't have small children. I've never been summoned to do it and I can't think of a single person I know well who has. I suppose I might know people and they've never mentioned it. I'm quite surprised that some people have been asked 3 or 4 times.

WhiteFire · 22/08/2023 21:48

Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g · 19/08/2023 12:03

I'm 62 and my husband is 68 and neither of us has ever been called for jury service. As we are both out of the labour market now and (currently) in good health and without caring responsibilities, we could do it no problem at all, so it's a bit frustrating that we've never been summoned. Upper age limit is 75 now, so there's still time.

My Mum was called when she was 75 (the actual cut off is your 76th birthday) It was 2020 and she was allowed to defer because of COVID and being clinically vulnerable. She turned 76 that year so that actually was the end of it anyway.

I think she was all mixed feelings about it.

Lagershandy · 22/08/2023 22:02

DH has been called for jury duty in September, he's retired so it's not a big problem work wise.
However we live in a town an hour away, they will pay mileage if you use your car but not for parking.

DH refuses to be out of pocket as city centre parking is extortinate, so he's using public transport (tram) and his bus pass. We went on a recce last week and it will take him around an hour, but as he will have to set off around 8 am he will hit rush hour. It seems a pita to me, but he is looking forward to it.

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WhiteFire · 22/08/2023 22:14

DH got called a few years back, I had just started a new job, he was a SAHP to our three children. My parents had to come up to provide childcare.

First day he went, and no-one was needed, (there was a long running case that collapsed at the time, so presumably the court would have been booked up) they then asked if people had reasons to be excused, one man did as he was his wife's carer. They were all called and warned it was a longer case and they asked for volunteers, luckily enough people stepped forward so that was that.

He didn't do anything and was told to go home at the end of week one, so a lot of practical sorting out for nowt.

LucyLoopyLu · 22/08/2023 23:02

Papergirl1968 · 20/08/2023 14:04

For those that have been on a jury, do you build a relationship with the other jurors? Like in the LL trial, that group of strangers was thrown together for months, then it's over and they never see each other again. Must be weird.
Is there chit chat in the jury room, about what you did at the weekend, the weathe, last night's TV etc?

Yes we did but this was before smart phones were all singing, all dancing. There was a hell of a lot of time sitting about together and we chatted like you would with colleagues. We were together for 10 weeks. After the trial we went for a drink together to celebrate the end then never saw each other again. I don't even remember anyone's name now tbh, and wouldn't recognise them in the street. It was about 13 years ago.

Wakintoblueskies · 22/08/2023 23:11

BlackLambAndGreyFalcon · 22/08/2023 19:23

I've only been called once. It was when I was a student and the call up came to me as being registered as my parents' home address, however I was living away during term time at my university 400 miles away. I rang up to be excused, only to be told that I could be granted a 3 month deferral. Had to ring up again to point out that in 3 months time I would still be resident at university 400 miles away from the court and was eventually excused. A few weeks later my mother received a letter summoning her for jury service!

I haven't been called up again and would be happy to do it now that dd is older and I don't have childcare considerations.

The first time I was called, I knew another person who had been called also. I was living in a small rural village and the odds of a neighbour being there was surely very slim. It could have been coincidence but since then I've always presumed they went on addresses. When I was called a second time, I was living where I live now, in a different city.

EtVoilaa · 22/08/2023 23:18

Wakintoblueskies · 18/08/2023 20:05

I’ve been called twice. I know people who’ve been called three times.

It’s luck of the draw! (Or misfortune imo).

Show quote history

It’s supposed to be luck of the draw but apparently if you’ve been called once it’s more likely you’ll be called again.

Herefordhousewife · 22/08/2023 23:36

EconomyClassRockstar · 19/08/2023 01:26

I am not UK but as soon as I got my new country's citizenship, I got called literally weeks later. Turned out I couldn't serve as I knew the person prosecuting. It seemed insane to me that they hadn't even done a basic search of social media or something as they would have seen, not only did we live streets apart but we were mutual friends on all social media platforms. It was such a waste of day as I'd love to be on a jury.

It would be totally impossible to do this. 12 people sitting on a jury. Several other “spares”. Multiple possible cases they could be involved in. Each case has lawyers, barristers, defendants, witnesses, let’s say there are at least 10 people involved in the average case (in the Letby trial it would have probably been 100s). I suspect the average case would have to trawl through around at least 2000 social media connections for a “basic check” but you’d rather the court service do that than mildly inconvenience you for a day? If you think that’s “insane” then frankly, for the sake of justice, we are lucky the court were spared your version of logic.

PrincessFiorimonde · 23/08/2023 00:15

My XH was on the jury of a complex fraud case in the 80s. It went on for over a year, I think. It was before I knew him, but he told me he found it fascinating. I imagine his employer must have paid him throughout, as I'm not sure how he'd have managed otherwise. (I never thought to ask him about that!) He's the only person I've known who's done jury duty, though.

GreenClock · 23/08/2023 00:18

We chatted when we weren’t deliberating and we all got on well. But at the end of the five week trial we all went our separate ways. This was pre-social media though.

One guy was a bit edgy one afternoon because he’d had a pub lunch about half a mile from the court and the defendant’s spouse was in there eating also. He felt unsettled, which we all understood.

It wasn’t the sort of case where you heard harrowing stuff, thankfully, so we didn’t need support from each other or anyone else.

I suspect that the jurors in the LL trial are currently facing questions from curious friends and relatives.

YetMoreNewBeginnings · 23/08/2023 08:24

We chatted when we weren’t deliberating and we all got on well. But at the end of the five week trial we all went our separate ways. This was pre-social media though.

This was one of the things I found so bizarre. The jury I was on lasted longer than average. We all chatted, a bit guarded as the case was harrowing so we were all quite quiet, but over that length of time you do chat.

I often wonder (even though it was 20 years ago) how the man planning to propose got on, if one man's work had kept their promise not to hold the long time off against him in a promotion interview shortly after we finished, if the lady having a nightmare with the builder of her new house got it sorted and how everyone coped with the fact we were subjected to weeks and weeks and weeks of horrific images and descriptions and then told "Thanks" and sent on our way with zero support.

Papergirl1968 · 27/08/2023 21:22

Very interesting hearing about the relationship between jurors, and the things I'd never considered such as toilet breaks.
I've never been called to sit on a jury but have sat through a lot of court cases as part of previous jobs, and a heck of a lot of time gets wasted because cases aren't ready to proceed, witnesses haven't turned up or whatever. It's really not a very efficient system.

NahBruh · 19/09/2023 17:21

I’ve been callled 3 times in the past 5 and a half years (first time they let me defer as I had 3 children under 5 and DH worked out of country a lot of the time).

DH has also done it, about 7 years ago.

The third time is actually this week but I’ve been excused thankfully as I have covid. I’m sure I’ll get a letter at some point soon for my next lot…

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