Jury

[AutumnalRose]

Hello. I've had my summons to do jury duty in the next few months - I'm so excited!
As any of you done it, and how did you find it?

Yes I actually work in the public sector, which I informed them about. I told work I’d come in tomorrow for my original shift, but said I’m still waiting to be recalled again if Im needed.

Work said that’s fine and would appreciate me going in. The only thing is I’m now working on a day by day basis until I’m officially excused..

Wont there be a new pool of jurors starting next week anyway ?

I don't know, all I know is my husband was told to expect 2 to 4 weeks, but not to rule out 12 if not more. What he was told pre-attending was nothing like how it turned out - he did nothing on day one but was there all day, then was sent home early Tuesday & Wednesday, and then on the Thursday was sent home immediately & told would not be used this time around.

Oh ok- your husband basically spent four days in limbo then…

I was told to go home and await further instructions. When I got the email it even said they may not contact me every day.

So unless they tell me to come back , I just work as normal. But I can’t commit to work that I’ll be back the following day because I don’t know what the court will say …

Is it likely I’ll go back ?

So after sitting in the court in Monday , myself and a few other were told after not being picked for a case , that we could go home and await further instructions.

We can still go to work but can be recalled to court, during our jury period. Mine ends next week.

Email received today saying I don’t need to attend court tomorrow, but to await further emails incase I’m required to re -attend.

Feels like I’m in limbo, work have basically took me off the rosta but I can still go in if not required. I work in a government department, who are paying me anyway, so they obviously want me to work if I’m not in Court.

Will they get in touch tomorrow does anyone think to atleast let me know if I am needed on Monday?

Feels like I can’t make concrete plans because I don’t know if the court will call me back ..

It’s a guessing game and v inconsiderate and annoying! I don’t think any of us can tell you if you’ll be needed.

I’d assume if I’m not needed on Monday, I wont be needed the rest of the week..

You need to stay available until you are discharged from jury service.

It is just the way it is, the court doesn't know what cases will be sitting, how long they will take, if the accused will change their plea, if there will be adjournment, if a juror will take ill etc.

You are in a pool of available jurors for that period and you might or might not be needed, but until discharged you need to remain available.

Friday I received an email asking me to re- attend tomorrow ( Monday morning)

The usual time period for jury service is 10 days but it can be more apparently if needed. But tomorrow won’t there be new jurors who start week one ?
If that’s the case wouldn’t the court pick those people because they have more time to allow them for a case ?

Please don't cringe - a jury is meant to be a cross section of society. Obviously you can't only have gullible 19 year olds, but equally you can't only have cynical 50 year olds. The evidence has to be tested. You did your job in testing it. It sounds like the jury as a whole got to the right outcome - exactly what is meant to happen.

No, a case can go on several weeks
Ten days may be the average but it's not a limit or cut off.

If it is likely to be a long case (there have been fraud cases that went on for over a year) the judge will ask everyone about their circumstances.

@Paul2023

As you work for govt, they will be very used to this changeability. And they will be supportive of whatever happens, so don't worry.

It's not like you work for Amazon!

@LongTimeReading

SAHP or anything else is irrelevant to jury service. It is considered something than any eligible adult in the UK should be prepared for.
It can't be irrelevant surely. If a baby is breastfed or there are young kids who need their parent they can't sequester a parent away in isolation for 6 months

That's kind of you. I just had this fear that I might be hooked, in some macabre way, on going every day for the rest of my life!
I agree with you that it's good for people to watch a real court session.

V few cases get sequestered. You're usually free to go home from 4. If you are breastfeeding and your child can't be separated, then you can put that forward for consideration of being let off jury duty.

1. The jury usually hear evidence between 10am and 4-4:30 pm to allow the staff from the court / CPS / defence to do the work that needs to be done around the trial process.
2. Sometimes a Judge will vary the sitting times to accommodate things such as witness availability. The Judge may also need to fit in time in their day to deal with other cases.
3. No one wants a trial to go over its time estimate because of the impact on the cases listed next, but it does happen sometimes.
4. They call around 16 people to find a panel of 12. They may call a lot more people to find a suitable panel for a long trial and it is for the Judge to assess and make decisions about the reasons people give for not being able to sit for the duration.
5. Some defendants will decide to plead guilty on the day of trial.
6. Sometimes a trial can't proceed because a key participant is unexpectedly unavailable, for instance because of illness.
7. There is no dress code for jurors, some will be very smart, some very casual, most somewhere in between. I would recommend layers because some rooms will be hot and poorly ventilated, others will be uncomfortably cold. Courts, like schools, hospitals and other public buildings, have suffered from a lack of maintenance over many years.
8. There will be jury rooms at the court where waiting takes place and it would usually be permitted to eat a packed lunch there.

I’ve just finished jury service today. This week was my second week. I was put on a trial that started on Monday. We finished this afternoon.

Last week I turned up on Monday and wasn’t required again all week. You do get to see how the legal system works.
I also met some nice people, who i wouldn’t have otherwise met.
Everyone took their role seriously , in a way I quite enjoyed it although the case was pretty mundane.

The weird thing is , you spend a week or two with people, maybe get to know them. As a group you make a decision that’s important that affects the justice system, then just walk out never to see eachother again !

Have you heard of Jury equity? this below - from https://defendourjuries.org/
explains what' happening in our courts - I thought you may find it interesting.

Juries are widely accepted to be the safeguard we all have against the tyrannical abuse of power by politicians, ministers and those in positions of authority in our courts.
But following a pattern of jury acquittals of those exposing Government dishonesty and corporate greed through direct action, Judges in UK courtrooms are denying both defendants and jurors their rights by restricting what defendants can say in their trials and by limiting what jurors are allowed to hear. People have been sent to prison just for using the words ‘climate change’ and ‘fuel poverty’ in court and banned from explaining their motivations to the jury.