Page 4 | Missed Jury Duty

cherryberry90 · 2023-01-21T21:50:36+00:00

As the subject explains Was out earlier shopping, and came home and eldest daughter mentioned that a couple of officers were at my flat, basically for a missed appearance at Jury Duty Do not wanna make things any worse than what they are now, scary thought what to do next Any advice that would be helpful?

EmilyGilmoresSass · 21/01/2023 23:19

cherryberry90 · 21/01/2023 22:10

It is my own fault entirely that I did not turn up

Took a chance I guess, had a few family issues, and I know I should have informed someone which I did not

If you'd bothered to try and make contact to make excuses to get out of it then it might have helped.

MoscowMules · 21/01/2023 23:19

Ilovechocolate87 · 21/01/2023 23:12

I was thinking the same...Why on earth are people getting arrested for something like that?! They aren't criminals!

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Well they are because they have failed to answer a court summons.

It's not a request, it's a summons to court.

You must reply even if it's to say "can't do it I have a pre-booked holiday" or "I'm due to give birth during the summoned time" "work will not release me" or simply "yes I accept".

Ignoring it is not an excuse for a summons.

Prescottdanni123 · 21/01/2023 23:20

@Fuzziefelt

Absolutely do not ignore it. That can land you in big trouble. There can be exemptions sometimes but you have to go through the appropriate channels

CPL593H · 21/01/2023 23:20

Fuzziefelt · 21/01/2023 23:00

I don’t see why they can’t just do things the way they do in magistrates courts ? Instead of having a jury

They are not going to rewrite the legal system, just for you.

Seriously, if you are that worried about it, get a diagnosis and the support of your GP.

MrsPelligrinoPetrichor · 21/01/2023 23:22

SarahAndQuack · 21/01/2023 23:17

I'm a bit unsure what I think here.

On the one hand, OP, I think there's more leniency for people who've struggled to understand the process than some posts on this thread suggest. For years I worked with students who were mostly young adults, and a few of them were picked for jury duty, and I can't think of a single one who understood right off the bat that this was 1) mandatory and 2) a serious issue that you couldn't get out of easily. Pretty much every time the students came back saying how there were loads of other people in the same boat, and everything was explained very carefully and without any judgment. I'm sure this would be the case for you, OP, if you just rang up and explained you'd not understood the process. It can't be uncommon.

On the other hand - I really think it's unfair and unethical to say you can't do jury service on the grounds you describe.

I had a student who was all of 19 when he had to be a juror on what turned out to be an extremely nasty case. It traumatised him, and he wasn't the only one. I know there was all sorts of preparation and discussion and I'm sure everything was done to minimise the harm of what he had to think about, but the bottom line was that it was really pretty upsetting. Jury service is likely to be upsetting. It's also (as a PP says) what we have as a system. It has its pros and cons and if you passionately believe you know of a better system you could campaign for that. What is not on, is to say that you think you should be allowed to opt out because you feel it'd be hard going.

I wouldn't want a 19 year only on a jury deciding my future. Poor kid,sounds awful.

TubbyMcFatfuck · 21/01/2023 23:29

@MoscowMules thanks for the detailed response, that's very interesting. Sheriff & Jury isn't really my specific area but I do have some knowledge and it sounds as though the process down south is a bit more stringent than up here! Although our citations do state that failure to respond can result in a fine, I've never seen nor heard of it actually happening ( although maybe I'm just not paying enough attention 🤔)

Pinkrose19 · 21/01/2023 23:31

Fuzziefelt · 21/01/2023 23:00

I don’t see why they can’t just do things the way they do in magistrates courts ? Instead of having a jury

Somehow the majority of this thread has been made about yourself 🤷🏻‍♀️ Most people aren’t called for jury service, it’s not worth getting yourself worked up over a ‘what if’ scenario. You’ll only know whether you’re capable if/when the time comes. Maybe start your own thread as clearly the OP could be in serious trouble and has a lot of responses to work through - and so many are now unrelated to her situation.

OP I’m sorry you’re going through this, I can understand how stressful it must be for you. Please contact 101 - don’t put it off x

Toddlerteaplease · 21/01/2023 23:31

Fuzziefelt · 21/01/2023 22:08

what happens if you get called to do jury duty but don’t want to ? Do you get that choice ? I have undiagnosed autism and don’t want to do it but obviously have no medical letter can I just explain ? Sorry to ask on this thread I just thought someone may know

It's compulsory. You can defer once I believe, for a genuine reason such as a pre booked holiday. Or work commitments. They are very unlikely to make an ex twitch no formal diagnosis.

ThisIsTotallyNewInformation · 21/01/2023 23:33

Crazy, did you think they'd not notice you didn't show up 🤔? If you are mentally unwell you should have contacted them and informed them you aren't able to attend due to xyz. I know people who have managed to have it put back for various reasons, they seem pretty reasonable (they had genuine reasons I'll add).

I guess you'll have to hope they accept your mental health issues as the excuse for being a no show.

Polly1974 · 21/01/2023 23:41

I'm wondering why you're still on this forum right now posting and not on the phone to 101 trying to sort this out. This is serious and you need to call..... tonight!

SarahAndQuack · 21/01/2023 23:41

MrsPelligrinoPetrichor · 21/01/2023 23:22

I wouldn't want a 19 year only on a jury deciding my future. Poor kid,sounds awful.

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But that's what a jury is, right?

We don't have cases decided by the wisest, most legally-informed people. We have a jury. Surely that's on the off-chance that a 19 year old, or a woman with autism, might have insights that all the legal training in the world wouldn't provide?

I did feel really sorry for him, but it's exactly how jury service is meant to work.

MoscowMules · 21/01/2023 23:42

TubbyMcFatfuck · 21/01/2023 23:29

@MoscowMules thanks for the detailed response, that's very interesting. Sheriff & Jury isn't really my specific area but I do have some knowledge and it sounds as though the process down south is a bit more stringent than up here! Although our citations do state that failure to respond can result in a fine, I've never seen nor heard of it actually happening ( although maybe I'm just not paying enough attention 🤔)

I've worked with/helped a few people who have ended up with a fine for not attending/responding.

Courts don't like it, it can lead to court dates being delayed, procedural delays, failures to attend can also mean the other jurors are left sat in rooms for hours not knowing what's going on.

It effects quite a bit, so the crown court really frown upon it, and it's very easy for the court to send the police to come a knocking for you 🙈

Best case they are picking you up to force you to attend/respond to the summons...worst case the court have issued a warrant for arrest.

Rule of thumb generally in life for me is "don't piss off crown court" 😳

LorW · 21/01/2023 23:43

I’m interested in how it all works, do some people get sent away? Like for example if you got called in to a child murder case and had young children? I’d probably cry my eyes out right there in the courtroom.

Xrays · 21/01/2023 23:45

MissMaple82 · 21/01/2023 23:02

Clearly, you don't understand mental health. Poor MH can cause individuals to bury their heads in the sand, become forgetful, ignore things, not understand things properly, etc. There are many reasons as to why this person hasn't responded appropriately.

Don't panic OP, you'll probably just need to provide evidence of poor mental health. This probably happens more often than you think.

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This.

Gather your evidence, even prescription slips for medication will help (if you don’t have these the pharmacy you collect medication from will be able to print off a repeat slip for you).

I advise on a health forum for these types of issues and it happens far more than people realise.

Scienceadvisory · 21/01/2023 23:46

MrsPelligrinoPetrichor · 21/01/2023 23:22

I wouldn't want a 19 year only on a jury deciding my future. Poor kid,sounds awful.

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You are not going to get a jury made up solely of 19 year olds. A jury is 12 people of a variety of ages, races, backgrounds etc so it represents society, of which 19 year olds are a part.

And as someone who did jury service at 19 i find your comment quite insulting and ignorant. Quite frankly I was far more capable than a couple of the much older jurors who seriously struggled with the concept of beyond reasonable doubt and were narrow-minded judgemental fucks.

Xrays · 21/01/2023 23:48

LorW · 21/01/2023 23:43

I’m interested in how it all works, do some people get sent away? Like for example if you got called in to a child murder case and had young children? I’d probably cry my eyes out right there in the courtroom.

No it doesn’t work like that. You get what you get unfortunately. But in very upsetting cases sometimes they do excuse the jury from ever having to sit on a jury again (like in the recent Arthur L Hughes case of child abuse and murder).

If someone has evidence of mental health issues or other reasons such as severe health issues or lack of childcare or other caring duties - ie that jury service would be detrimental to their health or their family needs they can apply to be excused from jury service and they usually do accept this. Usually it’s a deferral meaning you could be called up again and would have to apply to be excused again.

Northernlurker · 21/01/2023 23:50

I don't think anybody is fine with a child murder case. The point is you bring what you have. It's not a test of how good at retaining information you are. It's for you as a citizen to give a considered view having having heard the evidence.

Toomanybirthdays · 21/01/2023 23:51

My daughter who is a single mum literally gave up 2 weeks of her life last summer to attend jury service! As a family we blocked out 2weeks to look after our grandchild …we were massively pissed off that her being a student and single mum didn’t help her get of the commitment.
OPit is rubbish that because someone else has misbehaved,the innocent jury service person gets into trouble!!

twoandcooplease · 21/01/2023 23:51

I've never been called for jury duty but I'd heard you get in trouble for missing it. I didn't know this much trouble though!

So, if there is a warrant for op, would future dbs searches be a problem? And jobs etc?

Verbena17 · 21/01/2023 23:54

Fuzziefelt · 21/01/2023 22:08

what happens if you get called to do jury duty but don’t want to ? Do you get that choice ? I have undiagnosed autism and don’t want to do it but obviously have no medical letter can I just explain ? Sorry to ask on this thread I just thought someone may know

Please don’t worry. There is an exemption process.
About 8 years ago I was called for jury service and explained to the lovely lady on the phone the 2 reasons I was unable to do the jury service.

One was period related and the other was that I’m the main carer for my autistic child and there were reasons as to why that was relevant.

She understood and issued me with a year’s exemption, which came through in the post but said although it would be unlikely I’d be called again and if I was I could review it with them.

If you do ever get called and feel you are unable to do it, their phone line staff are really nice and helpful. You could write down the reason/reasons why you’d be unable to complete it and they’ll issue an exemption.

grayhairdontcare · 21/01/2023 23:55

I did jury service 10 years ago and honestly it was the most boring week of my life.

MichaelFabricantWig · 21/01/2023 23:56

We aren't required to do much to contribute to the society we live in

Apart from pay for it all through our taxes of course

MoscowMules · 21/01/2023 23:56

LorW · 21/01/2023 23:43

I’m interested in how it all works, do some people get sent away? Like for example if you got called in to a child murder case and had young children? I’d probably cry my eyes out right there in the courtroom.

Not for that reason no, sadly. Because I get it, it would be very distressing.

Basically jurors are selected at random from the panel. So you could have 30 potential jurors sat in a room and 12 will get selected at random to sit on the jury.

There are disqualification criteria such as a previous criminal record, and in very high profile cases like terrorism special measures/requests/checks can be requested by both the prosecution and the defence.

But generally speaking, no there's nothing stopping a mother sitting on a child abuse case/child murder case.

Hence why jury service can be very distressing, and why calls for better follow on support for jurors in horrific cases has been requested for years. A helping number isn't really helpful if you see what I mean.

So I completely get people's nervousness about jury duty because you really don't know what case your going to get till you are selected.

My colleague had a white collar crime case, and said it was very dull.

IsItThough · 21/01/2023 23:57

Fuzziefelt · 21/01/2023 22:08

what happens if you get called to do jury duty but don’t want to ? Do you get that choice ? I have undiagnosed autism and don’t want to do it but obviously have no medical letter can I just explain ? Sorry to ask on this thread I just thought someone may know

I was called in the summer for this autumn and it triggered panic attacks for me as I have claustrophia, anxiety and at that point was on the ADHD pathway (since diagnosed). I'm also self-employed and have complex caring responsbilities. I emailed to explain and I've been excused. If you set out why it will be difficult for you, with your self-diagnosis, hopefully they will be understanding.

MichaelFabricantWig · 22/01/2023 00:03

LorW · 21/01/2023 23:43

I’m interested in how it all works, do some people get sent away? Like for example if you got called in to a child murder case and had young children? I’d probably cry my eyes out right there in the courtroom.

I think most people would find that hard and also most people have had children. It wouldn’t be any easier doing it when your children are older. Or indeed if you were childfree.

I think the support for jurors is not great plus the fact they can’t talk about it. I read this article this year about a juror in the Logan Mwangi trial

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-61270062.amp

Very glad I am ineligible for jury duty due to
my job, I don’t fancy it at all