Jury Service

[RoeDeer86]

Hi all

Have any single parents out there been called to do jury service? Or anyone been called who could impart some advice, please?

I’m a single mum to a 5yo. I deferred jury service to the summer holidays because I couldn’t get wraparound care for my little boy around school to cover the hours I needed to be in and travel to the court. My issue is this, are courts generally sympathetic to people in such a situation? My mum is covering the two weeks but has to work the week after the two weeks finishes. She can’t get out of this and I’ve no other childcare options that will cover commuting time and a full day in court. Are they likely to let me go on that basis? I also rely solely on public transport as I don’t drive, and the court is in a local city to my town (a circa 1.5 hour trip each way, door to door).

My other question is this - is it worth taking my work laptop to work whilst waiting? I could only answer emails or do basic tasks (not take calls etc for confidentiality reasons). Has anyone else done this or should I just switch off from work entirely? I only ask because I know my workload will be hellish when I return to work and it feels wasteful to sit around when I could be doing SOMETHING.

Many thanks!

Yes, you can take your laptop. There’s a lot of sitting around waiting. Even when you get on a case, they sometimes ask the jury to leave or finish early and come back in a day or two.

Dh has just done jury duty and mobiles had to be switched off at all times when within the court. They won't let you use a laptop for security reasons and confidentiality reasons.

I've just been called and managed to defer to a later date but will appeal again.

First request to be excused was refused but I phoned up and they said to put more information into the request this time.

I'm self employed and they told me on the phone if it was going to go on longer than two weeks the judge would inform us and anyone in my situation (or yours I assume) would be excused. Certainly for me it would be a real problem to do longer than that if at all.

It seems like different courts must have different rules then, as you were absolutely allowed to take a laptop if you wanted to, for all the waiting time, when you weren't on a case, when I did it.

Best to take a book / some puzzles etc the first day and ask the court you are going to what their ruling is.

As a pp said, it is common to be released early if they aren't going to need you that day.

When they have cases that are likely to go on beyond the 2 weeks, they ask people if they are going to be able to do it, before starting you on that trial.

There is generally a huge amount of sitting around when you get called for Jury Duty.

You won't have to go beyond 2 weeks. When you get there you can explain why to the clerk.

If the case youbare assigned to is hoping yo last more than 2 weeks they ask if people can do longer. If you can't you don't do that case

I didn’t wait at all and ended up in from day one into the mid part of third week. They did let people opt out though if they couldn’t do more than the two weeks ( when they selected) we had to be there for 10 and were out by 4.30 latest each day.

edited to add : some people waited at home, they got texted then night before if they needed to come in ( you are expected to return to work on these days I believe )

Thanks everyone. I think I’ll leave the laptop at home on the first day and see how it pans out (and whether this particular Court allows laptops?). I’m used to being busy, so I hope they either pick me soonish or I can get some work done! Wish they’d selected me pre-kids, would’ve made the experience a lot more relaxed and less stressful. I’d imagine it’s quite interesting!

Forgot to say op, don't forget to claim expenses.

Take your laptop - there are no restrictions on laptop usage anywhere while you're waiting to be selected/not on duty. Power/internet access...that's a gamble.

Make sure you make them aware of your responsibilities re: childcare etc when you get there - It shouldn't affect anything because you're expected to do your civic duty regardless of your personal circumstances, but they will likely use common sense and not put someone in your position into the pool for a long and complex fraud trial, for example.

When you show up, there's a large group of jurors to be assigned to various different cases, and they will give you an opportunity then to ask to be assigned to one of the simpler cases that is unlikely to be as long as 2 weeks.

This! Some courts have helpful Clerk's who'll help you claim everything you're entitled to, others not so much.

If you get the latter, make a pest of yourself until you're sure you're getting everything you're entitled to.

A colleague of mine had a situation in court recently where a juror actually raised this with the judge...needless to say, the Clerk mysteriously pulled their finger out the next day 😅

You’ll be allowed your laptop in the main Jury waiting room but not in the court waiting rooms themselves. No video calls though.

I did jury service recently and had a funeral to go to on the last day of my 2 weeks. I was advised to write a note for the judge explaining this when I got called to the case. He then said that the case was unlikely to last beyond the first week, so this was not a problem.

My understanding was that if the case had been expected to run longer then it's up to the judge to decide whether you should try the case.

So definitely talk to someone on your first day, and explain your situation with childcare.

I recently did Jury Service.

Everyone goes in on the first day (there must have been in excess of 70 people on mine) and the court clerk sorts out a few admin tasks with you, then you just wait and see if you are called. You might as well take your laptop, even on the first day, but get there early so you can bag a seat next to an electrical socket! Gradually those 70 people are whittled down. 20 get called up for a trial, then only 12 are chosen. The extra 8 usually have to wait a day or two to see if they are needed on that trial, or another trial, before being let go. Some people did get called on the first day but most of us sat there from 9am till 4pm twiddling our thumbs.

I was called up on the third day, but still had to attend court on the first two days, whereas some people were texted the night before saying they didn't need to go in that day. What the court wants is for you to be 'available' for the two weeks, but whether or not there are some days you are not needed or a trial doesn't start until the Wednesday or Thursday you won't know until they text you the day before.

If there is a trial which they think will last more than two weeks, they will ask you if you are available for it. If you can't, then just say so. It's not a problem. Many people I was on jury service with were self-employed and they didn't have to do it. It's not compulsory, but some retired people (for example) would relish the thought of a complex/juicy trial!

I came on to say almost the same as @Nerdippy. One of my DS did jury service recently, where he only had to go for 2 days and then was phoned to say they’d let him know if they needed him again. They didn’t and he was quite disappointed!

I think that might depend on the court you are called to.
Where I did it, there are multiple cases happening. Not being called on to the one doesn't mean you won't be needed, it means you might be needed on one of the other ones.

I did jury service for 7 weeks and everyone was working on laptops etc in our juror room which we used in breaks. We had two rooms to use and some were doing conference calls. we did though finish around 4.30 and people used to go in to their work places then. This was in the city of London.

The court didn’t seem desperately sympathetic to people re the impact on lives both at home and at work. Yes to claiming back money for travel etc but that took weeks. My travel time was similar to yours.

If a case is likely to go over the initial two weeks you can say you cannot commit to it and be excused to do shorter ones. You have to be available for the two weeks though.

Thanks everyone! Really helpful comments and advice. I’m looking forward to it - just so wish I’d been called before I had my son, but such is life! Good to know they consider circumstances that mean you can’t do longer than the two weeks!