Getting out of doing jury service

[Spain1986]

Hi all,

I got home today and found a letter summoning me to attend jury service. What excuses can I give to not attend? I can’t afford to not get my usual salary. Times are hard already. Who can go two weeks earning £70 a day?

Thanks

I know that feeling of panic but have you checked what your employer’s policy is about this? Or if you’re self employed what does your insurance say?

If you really can’t afford to do your duty and it would leave you in financial difficulties then I would contact the courts to discuss your options. Ignoring the letter is not an option.

Not necessarily, I also had childcare issues and told them, they said tough luck, still had to do it. Cost me a fortune in childcare those 2 weeks as they only pay up to a certain amount which didn’t even nearly cover it.

I have had it deferred three times now. I'm not proud of this as I understand that we all need to play our part but the first time I was working in a commission only role and the other two I was self employed, just me running my own company. The last request was at least 20 years ago so I've probably dropped out of the system now.

Sorry that was for @Redglitter

Do your bit for Goodness' sake.
It's no secret that jury duty is a part of our society, and I guarantee that if you were tried for a crime you'd want a jury present.
That needs people like you to get on with it and do their part, not try and wriggle out of it.

I was called 20 odd years ago, deferred as I had a young baby. Never recalled.

If you've got a medical reason not to go, you could get a GP letter to excuse you. I've got social anxiety and PTSD, and my GP wrote a letter to excuse me (it was £20). I emailed that to the court and it was accepted.

When I was called up I sent a letter in to them saying I had young children and no childcare. They dismissed me from duty.
it was quite simple really and no questions were asked

It's no secret that jury duty is a part of our society, and I guarantee that if you were tried for a crime you'd want a jury present.

Actually, I'd far rather have a system that didn't use juries.

Commit a minor crime e.g. shoplifting some chewing gum. Can't do jury service with a criminal record.
I am joking but I always wondered why if you HAVE to do jury duty you aren't paid properly.
I am assuming that if you are on UC your money will be topped up but I'm not sure.
I deferred 15 years ago because ds2 was a newborn and haven't been called since.

I contacted them and said I was struggling with childcare as I was a single parent. I asked if they could re-arrange to a later date so I could get help from family. They just excused me and I never heard from them again.

Why? Genuinely interested in what you think the alternative is. Trial by a Judge?

I got a summons for jury service at the end of last year. I replied within the 10 days and stated in am on antidepressants for anxiety. I have trouble concentrating and that I have an overactive bladder. They replied telling me I was discharged.

Plenty of countries don't have a jury system. Germany is one.

I'd far rather be judged by professionals, so a judge or panel of judges with knowledge of the law than a random bunch of the public

It is quite controversial these days. My friend recently did jury service and a couple of the people on it couldn't have been less interested ... didn't take notes, barely listened. Another decided the bloke was guilty almost immediately (possibly colour related according to comments he later made about somebody else). Just awful. What is the alternative though.

Trial by a panel of judges, as used in Germany and quite a few other countries is far superior to the jury of peers system.

I certainly wouldn't want to be judged by 12 randoms on £70 a day...

I can see the advantages. I suppose the cynic in me worries that trial by judges alone would be open to corruption. I also think there is a possibility you could get rogue Judges making absurd decisions.

This is not correct, you have to have documented ongoing mental health problems to use this reason.

Yes, when I did jury service I’m pretty sure that a couple of the jurors had made a snap decision on the basis of the scruffy appearance of the defendant. I think we made the correct decision (guilty, unanimous) as it happens but…….

OP you are a teacher aren't you? I'm almost certain teachers get their full salary.

It's really difficult to avoid it these days, because if they defer you they make sure and catch you in a year or so and that won't be any more convenient.

A colleague of mine got caught for a long drawn out high profile case some years ago - our manager wrote a letter saying the NHS desperately needed her, and apparently the judge looked at it, snorted and dropped it in the Datashred bin. We couldn't recruit to her job, we just had to cover it. And when she came back, she got all her accrued holidays from the almost year she had been gone - it was a nightmare. You just have to suck it up really.

You never know, you might get lucky and get excused because they have called too many people for that particular session.

I was due to do jury service late last year and a week before I had a call from the Court out of the blue saying they had too many people for the cases scheduled and did I want to be excused. Yes please!

Another thing you could do is ask to move it to the week between Christmas and New Year, assuming you aren't away then. Apparently the courts are still open but few cases go ahead then due to not wanting to start and stop longer cases for the bank holiday breaks. Sure enough, she attended the first day and was immediately released as there were not enough cases. She was tipped off about this by the jury service helpline when ringing to change her dates as the original clashed with exams.

I have been called twice but avoided both, One was i had booked a holiday and the second i had just started a new job both genuine reasons and they accepted both my 'excuses' with no questions asked.

Just do it OP - it's your civic duty. I'm sure you'd want a jury if you were on trial, why should everyone else have to do it but not you?

I got called years ago, in winter at a nurse and things were bad staffing wise as it was so I called off due to that was never called again so far anyway. Ex is police so they never get called unless in court due to work