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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU to to expect to be excused from jury duty?! Request to be excused denied!😱

226 replies

TotallyScrewed · 17/02/2021 07:11

Like many others the last 10 months or so has been an absolute shitshow😅 Partner and I both work, have been homeschooling a 7 year old and we have two preschoolers who’ve been at home with us for long stretches of time when nursery is shut.

Now I’ve been called for jury duty!!!😱 I thought, well, SURELY my request for excusal will be approved!

  • I’m homeschooling
  • When nursery is open the little ones need collecting at 3 and I am the only one who can do it (no family nearby and husband works late)
  • I’m also a university lecturer slap bang in the middle of term. I know work is supposed to give you time off for this but I would feel bad for my students (especially the dissertation ones!) suddenly disappearing on them!!!

I explained all these things and my request for excusal was refused!!! I’m quite shocked to be honest. I do totally understand the importance of jury duty and in normal times I would be so happy to oblige but I’m already barely keeping my head above water as it is😭😭😭

Has anyone successfully been excused and if so on what grounds?!

Also, vote away!
IABU: There’s nothing special about you, do your bloody jury duty.
IANBU: You’ve suffered enough and should be excused😂

OP posts:
Velvian · 17/02/2021 07:43

I can't remember if I was excused or deferred, but I had a breastfed baby at the time. I spoke to someone on the phone and he was incredibly laid back and just said "of course"

I think I got lucky.

Clydie89 · 17/02/2021 07:44

Ask your HR dept /manager to do a letter for you and they'll excuse you. I work in HR and when they started the courts back up, we had 9 members of staff all called for different courts within the space of a month (we've less than 100 employees).

We allowed the ones we legitimately could and excused the others on the basis of needing to work during a pandemic and impact of the business if not. All were excused.

A few had tried to excuse themselves for the same reasons first and it didn't fly, the employer letter does it.

Helenluvsrob · 17/02/2021 07:46

I think deferral rather than being excused is a better strategy.
However given the pool of people has been decreased hugely by shielded people etc I’m not surprised.

Heard recently about a GP not being excused and an 18yr old in run up to A levels having to attend

BeakyWinder · 17/02/2021 07:47

If everyone who works and/or has kids skipped jury duty it would be very biased towards unemployed/retired men wouldn't it.

As an educated University lecturer you sound ideal for listening and weighing up both sides. I'd try to do it if you can.

ItsAllComingBackToMeNow · 17/02/2021 07:48

I am in Scotland so may be different, but I was excused on the day because my DH had been made redundant and I was a supply teacher who wouldn’t get paid if I didn’t work. My DH had been made redundant from the major industry in our nearest city where the trial was being held. There had been a huge industry downturn and lots of redundancies and pretty much anyone affected by those redundancies was encouraged to come forward and speak to the court officer (not sure of the real term) to be excused.

We were told we would not have been excused earlier because if the number of jurors who had turned out had been low, we wouldn’t have been excused. As it was, lots of jurors turned up so anyone with a vaguely valid reason to leave was excused before the draw to select the final jury.

catatecheese · 17/02/2021 07:51

can't you defer? I have always wanted to do jury servis but this year it would probably tip me over the edge. I am currently not coping working full time, studying and managing children. Next year I would probably skip in all smiling and happy to do my bit.
Try asking to defer but I fear probably everyone is at the moment which is why they are not being very helpful!
They need to go and find all the very bored furlough childless people don't they for this at the moment.

notanothertakeaway · 17/02/2021 07:53

The opening words of your post "Like many others..." say it all really. And it's lame saying that your DH can't look after the children because he works late!

Juries are supposed to represent the local community, and that includes you. YABU

Iwantedtrianglesnotsquares · 17/02/2021 07:54

I had to do jury duty the second time. I was excised the first, so had to go the second time. No excuses allowed. When we were then selected for the trials, you can plead your case for not doing it to the judge in the court room before the jurors are sworn in. It then depends on that judge, and the case length, other people’s excuses. Luckily I was excused by the judge from a very long case, but it was very close as my son had an operation week 3 (jury duty was 2 weeks), and as the judge said, my husband could have been there for my son’s operation if the training jury pool had better reasons to be excused. That was at the old bailey.

oakleaffy · 17/02/2021 07:54

@BeakyWinder

If everyone who works and/or has kids skipped jury duty it would be very biased towards unemployed/retired men wouldn't it.

As an educated University lecturer you sound ideal for listening and weighing up both sides. I'd try to do it if you can.

Surely the whole point of Juries is to get that cross section of Society?

It is interesting even in the 'Kangaroo Court' of MN how opinions differ, We all bring our own experiences to the table, and probably if someone in Court does seem to be really incapable of concentrating, they'd not be selected?
Some very young people get selected, but they are just as valid as an older, more life experienced person.

Iwantedtrianglesnotsquares · 17/02/2021 07:55

*remaining jury pool, not training.

nannybeach · 17/02/2021 07:55

I have always hated the idea of having to decide someone fate, I did get called, was told there were no exceptions, etc etc. It was a long way from where I lived, an area I didn't know, paying "costs", I would have lost a great deal of money.Well, I was night nursing in a busy general Hospital, got my shifts changed, then he trial dates were changed. I rang explained the situation, and was refumved from the list. My daughter's BBF had just had a baby, didn't drive, was summomened and had to atend

Lemons1571 · 17/02/2021 07:56

@BeakyWinder

If everyone who works and/or has kids skipped jury duty it would be very biased towards unemployed/retired men wouldn't it.

As an educated University lecturer you sound ideal for listening and weighing up both sides. I'd try to do it if you can.

Then the system should provide proper financial or other support for prospective jurors. Not just demand that parents leave their toddlers at home alone (you can hardly ask others to cover in these times of bubbles etc), or expect a 4 year old to walk themselves home at 3pm as there’s no wraparound care available. Or roll out the classic “find a solution” when pretty much all normal routes are illegal atm anyway.
swapsicles · 17/02/2021 08:01

I deleted back when dd was 4 and a single mum no problemi got called up last year and postponed it as I had a holiday in the middle of duty but had to give a date in the next 12 months that I could do.
They gave me a start date I'm Jan, I did ask to defer it again as I am working in a pharmacy which is a vital role, refused and told I have to go but can state that I can only do the 10 days (that is the legal length of time you have to do, the courts will know if trials are likely to go on for longer than this and I believe it's ok not to do the longer trials if you state beforehand you cannot.
Anyway had lots of letters stating my court date and only to attend if contacted due to covid and not to just turn up like they usually do.
I never had a call so didn't even have to go in the end! I suppose it saves on travel at the minute!

thewinkingprawn · 17/02/2021 08:01

My friend is on jury duty at the moment and the school had to take her children as she was performing a legal duty (check the list of ‘critical workers) so your 7 year old should get a place. Presumably the nursery is open as you say shut for stretches but it should currently be open. The job part is shit but it will likely never be a good time from that point of view. I don’t think you can just randomly defer otherwise anyone with kids or a job would be at the moment and they need a cross section.

grey12 · 17/02/2021 08:02

YANBU because of Covid. Honestly it is a challenge to do anything regarding children atm.

Definitely try to get it deferred.

Sleepingdogs12 · 17/02/2021 08:02

Sorry but your reasons aren't exceptional, it is a juggling act to be sure but millions of others are in the same boat at the moment. You have a partner who can manage the children. It is the system we have I am afraid. You might be able to defer though.

YetAnotherSpartacus · 17/02/2021 08:02

I'd get my employer to write a letter. Doing JD in term time and with dissertation students (which realistically you cannot easily pass on even if colleagues were not already overworked) sounds like a nightmare, a recipe for poor student feedback and meaning you'll likely be doing a large percentage of your paid work anyway (as most academics do, even when sick). A letter from your head or HR sounds like the way to go.

Ragwort · 17/02/2021 08:06

I was pleased to be called for Jury Service a few years ago, made all the arrangements for cover at work and then got a call to say 'I was no longer needed' two weeks before I was due to attend Confused . Never heard from them again.

Reedwarbler · 17/02/2021 08:06

Just came on to say that when you are doing jury service you are considered a critical worker, so your children can go to childcare/school.

thesparkthatbled · 17/02/2021 08:07

I just got called for jury duty too, but asked to defer because I'm shielding. When deferring I was asked to put 3 dates in the next year when I would be available.

I Haven't heard back yet, but I would really hope they accept having to shield as an excuse! If they don't I might go to the papers Grin

whataballbag · 17/02/2021 08:07

My ex got his deferred due to childcare a few months ago

PinkSparklyPussyCat · 17/02/2021 08:08

DH was excused as he's partially deaf and would struggle to follow proceedings. He wasn't even asked for proof and has never heard from them again.

KyotoRose · 17/02/2021 08:08

It’s obscene they’ve not let you off of jury service, given your circumstances.

I also think it’s awful to expect someone who has no choice at the moment other than to work from home, to suddenly travel, and work in a closed in environment, drastically increasing your chances of catching covid.

I’m in a very similar circumstance to you, and would be mortified in normal conditions to be called for jury service, never mind at present.

Definitely get your employer to explain your work case and put pressure on them. Good luck!

PinkSparklyPussyCat · 17/02/2021 08:09

Sorry, hit post too soon! What I meant to add was I was surprised they didn't want proof but I wonder if they are getting more and more people using the pandemic as an excuse (not saying you are OP) and are tightening up

C152 · 17/02/2021 08:09

I was excused from jury duty because I was primary carer for my baby. (At the time - about 4-5 years ago - this was listed on the paperwork as an acceptable reason to be asked to be excused.)

I have served on a jury before and, unfortunately, it just made me feel that juries are a total waste of time and money. If juries must be the way forward, then there would be much more 'justice' in them if they were composed of lawyers and those with a law degree, working in legal posts. My experience was that the law and evidence was dismissed by the more vocal jurors who had already made up their mind and were easily won over by the personality of the barrister. There's also loads of bullying by those who want their view to be the 'winning' won, and others who allow themselves to be bullied because they just want the fucking trial overwith so they can get on with their usual responsibilities. The particular case I was a juror on was then dismissed because the jurors didn't agree on the verdict. What a pointless waste of time - victims will have to go through the trauma of giving evidence again, witnesses memories will become less clear etc.

Anyway, sorry, that was really going off on a tangent! Try calling the number provided on your letter and explaining there is no one else to care for the nursery-age children, your family are overseas and can't travel to help you because of COVID and you can't afford an emergency nanny / childminder. Good luck!