Should I do jury service?

[Juryorrun]

I’ve been summoned to do jury service. I have good reasons to be excused from it, and those same reasons would make it a right old ballache to do (caring responsibilities etc). And I would also have an almost 2 hour journey to get there, and the same back each day.

It says 10 days service on the letter, but also says it may go on longer. Is that a standard thing it always says, or is it really likely to be around the 10 day mark? If it’s going to be a lot longer than that it definitely wouldn’t be possible.

BUT…I’ve always wanted to do jury service and I’d actually like to do it. I know it probably won’t be as exciting as I’m expecting it to be, but I think it would be interesting.

So AIBU for not getting out of it when I easily could, and it will be a right PITA logistics wise?

I haven't been a juror or actually met anyone that has been called but would be interested in doing it

Those MNetters who have been jurors have any of the other jurors been disabled?

I am in a wheelchair and deaf (the deaf part could be fine as they would have a hearing loop I presume)

However, more importantly are the jury box and decision rooms wheelchair friendly does anyone know please?

Jury box definitely wasn’t in mine. More modern courts might be better.

I was at the Old Bailey about 6/7yrs ago and even though the case itself wasn't particularly nice, I loved it. It took me about an hour to get there on a bus and then the tube. I'd love to do it again. It was supposed to be two weeks, however, it ended up being just over three weeks in total.

I don’t know what a jury box is (I’ve served twice).

The juror’s entrance, jurors rooms and court rooms that I’ve been in were definitely not wheelchair accessible.

if you get summoned, you’d have to call the court that you’ve been summoned to and discuss your particular needs. Some are far more modern and accessible than others.

Thank you for the replies about wheelchair access

When I said "jury box" I meant the part of the court where the jury are seated together

I have never been in a court so was only going on TV & MOVIE court layouts which are not like real life I guess

Ok I submitted my reply tonight. On the online form there were questions about health conditions which I thought it best to answer honestly as there’s a possibility that they might have an impact on me. So I hope they still want me and don’t put me in the nah pile!

I think we probably have a reasonable compromise in the UK where juries are kept for the most serious cases but the majority are decided by a stipendiary magistrate on their own or a bench of three lay magistrates.

I don't know about England, but this is certainly how it works in Scotland already.
Most trials are heard in the sheriff court and the majority of those are under summary procedure, where there is only the sheriff (judge).
In the sheriff court only cases on indictment (solemn procedure) have a jury, and in the High Court (where are the most serious cases such as murder are heard) all the cases have a jury.

There is currently an attempt to make rape trials here jury-free but it's being resisted by the judiciary, with good reason. As a PP said, testing the evidence is crucial to the defence of the accused.

12 random members of the public have a far broader life experience than One, or even three, judges - the majority of him are older, middle or upper class, white males.

Dh did it years ago he was self employed and it really mucked us over financially thankfully mil helped. He was on a trial about child abuse and had nightmares years after about what he saw

Don't think it helped we had children similar ages at the time.

He did ask to be excused but was told no. He had not been called again.

I agree. I have done it twice and loved it. Also you meet all sorts of people in the jury waiting room.

i was surprised how seriously my fellow jurors took their role. There were one or two flakey ones but mostly they worked really hard to follow the case and come to a decision

You know perfectly well you SHOULD do it. But yes, you can probably wriggle out.

OP, when I had to go to Bristol Crown I parked in Rupert Street and it was only a short walk from there. I also know people who have bussed it in from near cribbs causeway. I don't know how accessible that is for you or if there is a similar park and ride south of the city.

Bristol is quite a big court and is sometimes used for major cases from smaller surrounding areas that only have small courts.

I've had jury duty twice - both times it involved phoning at 5pm every day for 2 weeks and listening to a recorded message telling me I wasn't needed. The most excitement was when the message said that I might be needed and if I was they'd call the next day before 10am. They didn't call.

I would too in a heartbeat if I was being paid for it. Jury Service was fascinating.😁

I did jury duty last year and although it was heavy (murder) and felt a great responsibility to make sure I was making the right decision, it was fascinating and it felt a privilege to do it.
Most people on my jury wore smart casual, some wore t-shirt and shorts/casual clothes.
We were asked to complete a long trial form and those who had holidays in September already booked/childcare responsibilities over the summer holidays etc were exempt and only in the pool for regular trials within the initial 10 day period.

Do it

I've been called six times, but I have never been on a jury. When my name is called in court, one side or the other always challenges. The last time was a few months ago, and my name was called for two trials. There was a murder and a rape. I hated the thought of being on a rape jury, as I've heard it's harrowing, but justice needs to be done. I was challenged by one side, and the other side for the murder.

I'm in Ireland where each side can challenge up to seven jurors without giving a reason.

I did it in January 23. Went in for the first day. Wasn’t selected so sent home at 2pm. We then had to ring a hot line after 6pm to see if we were selected got the next day. I did this and fit the first well my number didn’t come up. Second week on the Monday they said I was dismissed. So I did it but wasn’t ever called in. I did manage to paint both my children’s bedrooms though!

Ive done jury service 3 times. Quite often we went home early.
If i had a 2hour each way journey i wouldn't/couldn't do that.
You are asked if an extended service would be a problem.
Each of mine lasted less thsn a week.
It can be boring waiting to be called to a case, but you do get to meet lots of people.
I would do it again if i was asked, but i dont think that will happen. Someone told me you only get called twice, lol, i proved that theory wrong.

I got called up whilst on maternity leave. I requested to be differed as I had no childcare.

This was agreed and I was called again shortly after I went back to work. I had a really interesting case which lasted 7 days. I'd love to do it again.

For some reason I’ve done it twice! Good job I found it interesting. You can try and defer it, seems like a long way from you.

Haven't read whole thread - but I'm absolutely gobsmacked by the number of people who are talking about jury service as if it's something you can choose not to do, or something they would recommend trying to get out of because it was boring or traumatic. Do those people not understand that this is how our justice system works? It is your duty to do it and that's why it's very hard to get out of. Imagine you or your loved one was up in court and the jury was only composed of those who could be bothered to turn up? Yes, some of it is boring and sometimes it's traumatic but it's how the system works, for all of us.

I was in one that lasted over 7 weeks. You can't just say no thanks if you're assigned to a long case. The only way we could be excused was an already paid for in-full (with proof) holiday, or scheduled surgery.
An appointment wasn't enough, they just adjourned the case for that day to allow you to go, then resume the following day.
It was a High court judge presiding the case.
The court wrote to our employers to explain the estimated length (originally 6 weeks). My employer tried to argue and they wouldn't accept it as a reason for me the withdraw. Sadly, this meant I wouldn't be paid my salary via my employer but instead paid weekly by the court. Plus travel expenses weekly.
Took me about 8 weeks afterwards to get straight again with money/ paydays / bills which was a pain. And I found myself dreaming about the case sometimes throughout it. But I thoroughly valued my experience and would do it all over again should the clock go back. At the end of the case wr got a letter excusing me from duty for X number of years as a thank you for our time.

You can claim travelling expenses, loss of earnings, meals and even overnight expenses, but as far as I know, not for travelling time itself.
Out of pocket expenses are a bit of a grey area, but if you need carers employed, then try asking
You can defer for up to a year to fit around your lifestyle
The 10 days is standard wording, I think.
You could do more than one case

I did it and it was one of the most memorable and interesting experiences of my life!
I was on a case where 6 women were being tried, and it was fascinating. I had so much respect for the other jurors. I thought it was amazing how we all came from such different walks of life and brought such different ideas to the table.