Jury duty and history of DV/SA

[MumtoaMuffin]

I’ve been called for jury duty and have to call a number in a couple of weeks to see if I’ll be needed but in the meantime I’m very anxious. I’ve experienced domestic violence and also a sexual assault as a child. I’m worried if it is a case about either of these things the details will be triggering and upsetting. Is this a valid reason to be excused?

Just wondering if anyone has been in a similar situation!

You can ask for an excusal when you get the summons but you might be past the point to do that and obvs no guarantee it would be granted. When I was called, and picked, the clerk does call you personally (it was a high court case I was called for) and I think you'd be able to tell them about your anxiety at that point. They should know what case it is they are selecting for and take that into account. You also get an opportunity to provide information on the day at the court at different intervals including once you've heard the charges.

I'm not sure if it's different for sheriff court.

I honestly found everyone very helpful and supportive throughout the process.

Chances are you won't even be selected. But if it was a case involving dv/sa you could tell them that you'd find it hard to be objective due to past experiences.

It won't get you excused at this stage because the trial could be about anything. If you do get selected as pp said speak to the court officer.

Theyre not going to put you something that could be traumatic for you

7 of us in my department have been called in the last three months. Mine was last week, I had to call every night for a message to tell me I may get a call the following day by the court clerk and if not to call after 6pm the next day, until Wednesday when we were released. None of the five colleagues prior to me have had to attend either and the 7th is next month.

Hopefully you won't get called either but if you do, explain to them your concerns and that if it's a similar case you aren't sure you will be able to make a decision based solely on the facts and without emotions coming in to it. They will know what the trial is about and if it is csa, they will hopefully excuse you.

The newer system does avoid lots of unnecessary visits to court. Unfortunately I did get called, and attended but when they give you details of the case you are invited to discuss any concerns with the clerk, as there are 2-3 back up jurors there on the day too should this be the case.

There was a lot of checking in on jurors about timeframes too, but our back up jurors were excused.

I was called for jury service in June and it was a domestic violence case. They called 20 people for a 15 person jury, before it all started the clerk of the court sat us down and laid out the basics of the case - it was domestic violence, the accused was Mr X and the main witness was Miss Y, the addresses of the alleged offences were A, B and C in these towns.

He then asked any of us who felt that knowing these facts we couldn;t be impartial, to raise our hands. One guy did and was taken away to have a private convo with the staff, he never returned so whether it was that he knew one of the people or his sister lived next door to one of the locations or something we'll never know.

So yes, you have the opportunity to say that you don't think you could be objective in that sort of case. It doesn't mean though that they won't just allocate you to a fraud / drink driving case or something.

To add - sheriff court. I didn't speak to anyone beforehand, it was all "phone this recorded number after 5pm to see if you're needed tomorrow".

I served on a jury at Glasgow High Court for an attempted murder case. After the jury had been picked and the case started, one of the jurors was relieved after speaking to the clerk of court. The rest of us never found out why - she just disappeared - but she must have known more about the situation or the people involved than had been apparent initially.