Page 6 | 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?

Verbena17 · 22/01/2023 01:05

BlueSkyAndButterflies · 22/01/2023 00:55

I personally know two people it's happened to. One, someone official wasn't taking a prior diagnosis (of autism) seriously so the GP wrote to say they'd re-assessed the person and they're definitely autistic. The other was struggling to hold down a job, needed special measures at work to enable that. Relatives recognised/suspected the person's autism, it was explained why to the GP who agreed and made the diagnosis.

Somewhere on Fuzziefelt medical records will be a referral for autism diagnostic screening and a record of their parents pulling them out of it part way through, there may even be a comment/ report from the doctor who did the screening that in their opinion Fuzziefelt meets diagnostic criteria so far but parents felt diagnosis wouldn't be helpful. If Fuzziefelt feels diagnosis would open doors to other help they need, such as being excused jury service on MH grounds, they should totally persue it.

Whether the GP would diagnose I guess depends on their level of knowledge of autism, some GPs have a special interest in MH and know more than most. Same way some GPs will only prescribe antidepressants for MH problems, referring to specialist services for anything more complex, whilst others will happily prescribe antipsychotics if necessary

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Hmm interesting.
I guess with children needing EHCP’s it’s slightly different in that it’s a social budget not nhs budget and so the council will make it ever more complex than it needs to be.

I just assumed, as for my DS, that it had to be 2 x clinicians diagnosing….for example, paediatrician and psychologist. There’ll be a LOT of angry parents if they find out GP’s can officially diagnose autism children!

I think I sur have not seen the @Fuzziefelt post about their parents stopping diagnosis part way through. I agree though, it would be helpful for things such as the jury service issue.

IsItThough · 22/01/2023 01:07

A GP can say yes, you appear to have autistic traits. They cannot give a formal diagnosis, this requires a specialist assessment process.

A note from the GP may help Fuzzie though, and a referral to the pathway even more so.

Verbena17 · 22/01/2023 01:08

Everyonehasavoice · 22/01/2023 01:04

You have a legal obligation to attend
It doesn’t matter if you don’t want to
But you can avoid it for certain reasons
for example
Medical..letter from doctor
Exams..I didn’t attend as I was called up during my A levels for example
Anything undiagnosed isn’t going to cut it as you need a doctors letter.

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That’s not quite correct.
I had exemption for a health reason and didn’t need any evidence. I just explained on the phone and they sent me an exemption letter. I may have had to complete a form first but can’t remember.
I didn’t need a letter from my doctor because I told them I hadn’t told my doctor. I explained what would happen if they forced me to do jury service and she pretty quickly said it was fine & I could be made exempt.

Verbena17 · 22/01/2023 01:10

IsItThough · 22/01/2023 01:07

A GP can say yes, you appear to have autistic traits. They cannot give a formal diagnosis, this requires a specialist assessment process.

A note from the GP may help Fuzzie though, and a referral to the pathway even more so.

Yes that’s exactly what I thought.
I suspect that’s what @BlueSkyAndButterflies meant - that the GP had basically said they thought their friend was autistic but it wasn’t an official diagnosis.

MsBucket · 22/01/2023 01:11

Luredbyapomegranate · 21/01/2023 22:21

No it isn’t. Lots of people would never do it if it was just a civil offence and a fine.

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@Luredbyapomegranate I had no idea that missing jury duty was a criminal offence. I’m pretty sure that if it was a civil offence with a hefty fine, people would do it because nobody wants to pay that much and some may not be able to afford to and can make arrangements to pay in instalments etc. So I’m sure there are other measures that can be taken than going straight to punishing someone for missing jury duty as a criminal offence.

Great username by the way

Everyonehasavoice · 22/01/2023 01:15

Verbena17 · 22/01/2023 01:08

That’s not quite correct.
I had exemption for a health reason and didn’t need any evidence. I just explained on the phone and they sent me an exemption letter. I may have had to complete a form first but can’t remember.
I didn’t need a letter from my doctor because I told them I hadn’t told my doctor. I explained what would happen if they forced me to do jury service and she pretty quickly said it was fine & I could be made exempt.

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Oh OK
Thats good to know.
Just going by a couple of friends experiences

Judgyjudgy · 22/01/2023 01:24

Deathbyfluffy · 21/01/2023 22:17

You knew you had jury duty, didn’t forget bud just chose not to go?!
It’s a criminal offence and you could get into real trouble for this, go straight to the police ASAP and do some grovelling.

I don’t mean to sound harsh, but a lot of people have family and MH issues - jury duty isn’t just like bunking off work for the day because you feel like it.
You really need to deal with things like this properly in future.

Agree. It seems now everyone just puts things down to having MH issues

MrsMikeDrop · 22/01/2023 01:26

Fuzziefelt · 21/01/2023 22:50

They should give people a choice. If you agree then don’t turn up fair enough that’s an offence but there should be a choice in the first place. Forcing someone to do anything is never going to get the best from them. People should be able to opt out of the whole thing if they want to

It's called being part of a functioning society. Everyone has to do their bit. It's also mean to be a cross section of people so it is fair. How would you like it if you were innocent, yet had to go to prison because nobody wanted to be inconvenienced by being on your just.

BlueSkyAndButterflies · 22/01/2023 01:38

FWIW OP I know 3 people who did jury service and they all said it was interesting, except the waiting around parts those were boring, but they passed the time by chatting to the other jurors or reading etc. Sometimes they turned up and got sent home again because there wasn't a case for them that day.

JackieDaws · 22/01/2023 01:53

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!!

Yes, everyone please stop doing crime because TooManyBirthdays was a little inconvenienced over something she had at least 4 months to prepare for🙄

Anyway, if you ever want to get out of jury service, come down with D&V the day before. The court do not want someone with that on the jury.

DrMarciaFieldstone · 22/01/2023 03:39

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

You’ll need a diagnosis

LadyOfTheFliessssss · 22/01/2023 05:43

Judgyjudgy · 22/01/2023 01:24

Agree. It seems now everyone just puts things down to having MH issues

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Do you think it's likely a percentage of those people actually do have mental health issues or that everyone on earth who says they have mental health issues is lying?

Because I'm really interested to know how you work out which is which, doctor.

Backtoblack1 · 22/01/2023 06:05

Tell them you’re struggling. There has to be some special cons surely?

Roselilly36 · 22/01/2023 06:18

It is a serious matter, you could be looking at a £1000 fine.

Usernumber737373726363 · 22/01/2023 06:33

My partner did jury duty a year or so ago. He went and was told there is always no shows and they didn’t seem overly fussed about people not turning up.

I am no expert but I can’t imagine much will be done. I was excused from jury service a few years ago!

Mumofnarnia · 22/01/2023 06:58

MsBucket · 22/01/2023 01:11

@Luredbyapomegranate I had no idea that missing jury duty was a criminal offence. I’m pretty sure that if it was a civil offence with a hefty fine, people would do it because nobody wants to pay that much and some may not be able to afford to and can make arrangements to pay in instalments etc. So I’m sure there are other measures that can be taken than going straight to punishing someone for missing jury duty as a criminal offence.

Great username by the way

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I have done jury service and it does state very clearly on the initial summons from the court that you must attend and that it is a criminal offence not to do so which will result in a £1000 fine. From what I can remember it states this more than once. And it is also stated in subsequent correspondence too. So unless you have a valid reason not to attend then you can’t just ignore the summons and choose not to go.

orangegato · 22/01/2023 07:36

@Fuzziefelt a lack of a diagnosis doesn’t make you any less autistic than if it’s on paper. You know yourself better than anyone and having to justify it to people on here isn’t fair. I have every tendency but not putting myself through the medical process dragging up my childhood so my comments can have more clout. Some on here are very precious about the autism club…

Fuzziefelt · 22/01/2023 07:40

BlueSkyAndButterflies · 22/01/2023 00:28

It's your wording @Fuzziefelt . I know what you mean. But it's not "don't want to" when the reason you don't want to is because "you couldn't cope with it and it would make you ill". That's how you have to word it.

If they don't accept it and say you have to do it, and the stress of it does make you ill then go to the GP ask for help, meds, counselling, whatever and ask for a letter from them saying you're too unwell at the moment. That gets it deferred, then if necessary you do the same again if the stress makes you ill again.

Also you don't need people to say about your childhood to get diagnosis it's possible without that, you're not the only person in that situation. And a GP can diagnose you, it doesn't have to be a psychiatrist. Gather the evidence, including personal information about all the things you can't do/struggles with life etc, book a double appointment with your GP and see if they'll give you a diagnosis.

If not being diagnosed is holding you back from receiving help you need in life then you should be diagnosed by the GP or referred to a specialist. It's not ok to be left struggling.

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The gp said they’ll help me with the symptoms but that a diagnosis won’t change that so I have to see it that way they said the nhs wait is huge and not all referrals even get accepted.

my dm has told me she will never contribute to a private assessment as doesn’t want the condition in the family 🤦‍♀️ I actually know myself all about my childhood as she’s told me ironically all the ‘worrying’ traits I displayed.

I’ll call and I’ll explain I’ll word it carefully and I’ll get the gp support if needed . I know other autistic people may be ok to do it but I’m just not

Fuzziefelt · 22/01/2023 07:43

orangegato · 22/01/2023 07:36

@Fuzziefelt a lack of a diagnosis doesn’t make you any less autistic than if it’s on paper. You know yourself better than anyone and having to justify it to people on here isn’t fair. I have every tendency but not putting myself through the medical process dragging up my childhood so my comments can have more clout. Some on here are very precious about the autism club…

I just feel cheated from what happened to me I had to go to see the dr and what I think was a psychologist?? They’d spoken to the school and they pre warned my parents I would be getting a diagnosis unless they wanted to choose to not pursue it any further and they would discharge me ?? How was that allowed

speakout · 22/01/2023 08:01

I have been excused jury duty twice, once because I was breastfeeding an infant, the other because I am a carer.

I needed no evidence on either occasion, but I phoned within 48 hours of the citation, and was taken off the list- no hassle.
Procrastination rarely works.
Sorry OP hope you get it sorted.

BadNomad · 22/01/2023 08:09

Oh OP. You have my sympathy. I did the same thing many, many years ago before I got my diagnosis of autism. I just ignored the letters that came. Every time I thought about having to go to court, with all those strangers, in such an important legally setting, I wanted to jump in front of a train. So I just ignored it. The date passed and I relaxed again. Eventually I received a letter from the police saying to contact them. I did. The officer was nice, thankfully. I played dumb. Said I'd been staying with my sick grandfather, so never saw any letters. He said nothing scary will happen, that they have better things to do than chase people who fail to turn up to jury duty, but just make sure it doesn't happen again.

Contact them. Tell them you have mental health issues and can't cope with things like that. You might have to provide evidence if they are going to pursue it, but hopefully they'll just give you a verbal warning.

HoppingPavlova · 22/01/2023 08:11

If you have a MH condition that precludes you from doing Jury Duty you go to your GP and they write this. If your MH condition has led to missing Jury Duty then you can get that certified by the GP and you won’t be fined etc.

As for autism (which has now overtaken the initial premise of the thread seemingly), it’s not an automatic disqualified for jury duty. Some people with autism will be just fine with jury duty and others not. You can disqualify people ‘because autism’.

I have one child who can’t do it, should it be a case with gruesome details they will be affected terribly and it would interfere with normal functioning. They do have MH diagnosis. They were worried about it (hasn’t occurred) and GP said they just do a letter stating MH issues not compatible with jury duty, don’t need to elaborate.

I do know 2 people who had no mental health issues and no reservations going into jury duty, happy to do it, who had absolutely gruesome cases, and both suffered severe ptsd as a result. One ended up on disability and the other could work as much as their shot mental health allowed them and they have never been the same. I’m not convinced all trials should be jury trials.

Diynoidea · 22/01/2023 08:13

Fuzziefelt · 21/01/2023 22:57

Maybe it’s better to have a jury made up of people who want to be there and are taking it seriously instead of a representative jury where they’ve been summoned and might feel resentful about that

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You clearly don’t understand the whole basis of our legal system.

Also you come across as very self centred and specifically unwilling to contribute to society if it doesn’t benefit you personally.

Fuzziefelt · 22/01/2023 08:15

Diynoidea · 22/01/2023 08:13

You clearly don’t understand the whole basis of our legal system.

Also you come across as very self centred and specifically unwilling to contribute to society if it doesn’t benefit you personally.

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That’s a ridiculous assumption to make. A person unable to do jury service can contribute to society in many other ways

MischiefTheChicken · 22/01/2023 08:18

LorW · 22/01/2023 00:11

Definitely should be more support available then, it’s shocking that there isn’t.

I just wondered how they stop bias, but I suppose you can’t really stop that. I can’t even watch tv dramas where children/babies die without crying my eyes out I would literally be useless in those kind of cases, I’d probably be sick. Very interesting though, I’d probably like to do other cases, I know it’s not how it works but it’s a shame you can’t choose. I have heard it’s a lot of sitting about though.

do they cover costs? Transport/childcare etc?

They do pay some expenses but I’m not sure exactly what they cover. It may not be the same now but 20+ years ago my friend was called to do it in her university town. When she realised the period she was being summoned for overlapped between term-time and holiday she called them to explain she was living in halls and had no accommodation lined up after the end of term. They told her to organise to stay in halls for the rest of the time and they would cover the additional cost. However when she sent them the bill from booking her extended stay, they told her that was more than they were prepared to pay and excused her from jury duty!