jury service

[geoff walker 1Participant @geoffwalker1]

Just been summoned to do jury service in January.

I've done it all before and as I'm now past 70 I have applied to be excused.

I know there are many 70 to 75 year olds on here, anyone else been called, any thoughts you might offer/advice?

Geoff

[geoff walker 1Participant @geoffwalker1]

“please sir, can I be excused”

[roy entwistleParticipant @royentwistle24699]

I didn't think you got called over 70

Roy

[geoff walker 1Participant @geoffwalker1]

Roy,

I'm proof that you do, age raised to 75 since 2016.

[Ady1Participant @ady1]

Got called way too many times for it to be random

If you want to be excused up here you must reply within 7 days of the Jury letter arriving

Don't "leave it until later"

Once you've done Jury Duty they can't bother you for another 2 years, but you still have to get that letter back in 7 days telling them you are automatically excused

Edited By Ady1 on 01/12/2021 16:09:48

[Ady1Participant @ady1]

If you tell them that you're a racist nazi then they stop sending you letters

(I've been told)

Edited By Ady1 on 01/12/2021 16:05:36

[Phil H1Participant @philh196021]

Posted by Ady1 on 01/12/2021 15:57:33:

Got called way too many times for it to be random

If you want to be excused up here you must reply within 7 days of the Jury letter arriving

Don't "leave it until later"

Once you've done Jury Duty they can't bother you for another 2 years, but you still have to get that letter back in 7 days telling them you are automatically excused

Edited By Ady1 on 01/12/2021 16:09:48

Too many times? Is that because everybody else has some kind of record?

I've been called twice and my wife has somehow ducked out all together. However, we both have the same initial and no middle name. If I get called again, I'll nominate her.

[Ady1Participant @ady1]

I think there's a lot of very oldies, and a lot of houses are now tourist holiday accommodation plus loads of students who are mobile/temporary, so the indigenous catchment jury population is dropping

Many are teachers/NHS/Legal folk here so excused on job grounds

I've been getting one every 18 months for about 6 years now, I'm "a bit of an expert."

Due another soon actually if current trends continue

Meanwhile my random premium bonds are 60 years old and never won a sausage

Edited By Ady1 on 01/12/2021 17:03:55

[egaParticipant @ega]

I believe it was the position that "legal folk" were not excused but actually disqualified from serving. I don't know the current rule but I could well imagine the inconvenience of elderly jurors wanting to be "excused" during the trial!

[SamsarandaParticipant @samsaranda]

I am 75 and never been called but then I spent 22 years in the Air Force which apparently made you exempt while serving. My daughter who lives in the same village as us has done a two week stint on a jury, she said it was a pain because she had to travel to the Crown Court in Lewes which is a town where parking is non existant and she had to travel by train, a journey of 20 miles and then a fair old hike from the station. Being 75 I suppose I got away without being called, Ady you must live in a very crime ridden area or it’s sparsely populated if you get called that often. Dave W

[geoff walker 1Participant @geoffwalker1]

Thanks for the replies gents,

The form is in the post Ady.

Dave W's post sums up many peoples frustration with Jury service.

For me it's a 5 mile early morning bus trip to the nearest main line station. Next a 20 mile rail journey on a crowded commuter train (covid filled train? ) into Liverpool lime street and then a 10 minute walk to the crown court, all in midwinter. When you arrive there is every chance you hang about for a while a then some clerk will come along and say " thanks for coming you can go home now, see you tomorrow. Prompt at 9 a.m. What waste of time!!!!!

Well let's see what happens

Geoff

[pgk pgkParticipant @pgkpgk17461]

Probably targeting the retired to avoid paying lost wages.
Never been called for jury service but was once called as a witness (as a student in London 55yrs ago). I walked 15 mins from my flat to the courts, sat around for 3 hrs before finally going to find out what was occurring and discover the case had been cancelled. Kindly desk sergeant then suggested I made a claim for expenses.

"Where have you come from?"
"I only live down the road"
"Try again. Where could you have come from?"
"My sister lives in Reading?"
"That's better." He got a book down and looked up the return fare from Reading and tube from Paddington."And add breakfast costs in a lower priced cafe in Reading and you'll need some lunch….We'll send you a cheque"

pgk

[Chris CrewParticipant @chriscrew66644]

It is supposed to be, and in actual fact is, a public duty and a valuable service one should, if possible, provide. In my view, the summoning to serve on a jury and participate in our justice system should be accepted with alacrity and every effort made to fulfil this moral obligation.

[Nick Clarke 3Participant @nickclarke3]

Teachers are not excused but they may apply to be excused should they be called – but not always successfully.

My last Headteacher applied to be excused when called as we were expecting an inspection but this was refused – and the inspecting agency refused to say whether they were turning up at 24hrs notice when she was out on jury duty.

[John AbsonParticipant @johnabson65530]

Chris, I have done it once and agree that it is something of a privilege to able to serve – the judge in introducing himself told us that while we, the jurors, might think that he was the most important person in the court room, in fact it was us. He thanked us specifically for fulfilling our duties.

Having said that, jury service can be a major legitimate headache for some people where transport and mobility can be an issue. If so, one should consider writing, asking to be excused and giving plausible reasons. Living in Reading might not pass in all cases!

[JAParticipant @ja]

I have been called and done jury service twice. Both times I was told I was not required before the full term of service. Not one of the cases I sat on was at all interesting. I did get off a three week messing murder case, along with two other potential jurers, by saying that my employer would be very unimpressed.

I believe every grown person should experience it. I found it incredibly interesting. I really did not know that people lived boring, disfunctional lives with some very strange ideas (that includes some of the jurers).

JA

[Tony Pratt 1Participant @tonypratt1]

I have done it twice & absolutely loved it, so interesting! I hope to do it again.

Tony

[Peter G. ShawParticipant @peterg-shaw75338]

I've never done it, and at 78 now I never will do it. My wife was called 33 years ago and got off due to pregnancy. My daughter has done it at least three times, the last two being after the accident which put her into a wheelchair for the remainder of her life. Arrangements were made so that she could still serve. I've also a suspicion that my youngest got called in his very early 20's.

Peter G. Shaw

[John HaineParticipant @johnhaine32865]

I sat on two cases. One collapsed after a day when it became apparent that the prosecution case was non-existent. The other went on for a day and a bit, at the end of it the judge spent a lot of time pointing out the flaws in the prosecution and the total inadequacy of the defence and virtually directed us to acquit! The other "team" however were not so lucky and got involved in a very distressing 3 week murder trial I later gathered.

But yes it was a privilege – just remember that if it ever comes to it we get judged by our peers in the end and not by arbitrary decisions of judges like like in some other countries.

[DiodeDickParticipant @diodedick]

I got cited for duty when I was due to be away from home on holiday. I asked for an exemption on account of age, (well over 70) gave my driving licence number, which has date of birth embedded in it, and got a permanent excusal within a few hours.

It has been said that the quickest way to get sent home involves a jacket, tie and a copy of the Times to read in the waiting room.

[VicParticipant @vic]

I was called twice when I was much younger. As I was the sole employee of the company at that time I just gave the letter to one of the directors and asked them to deal with it!

[Kiwi BlokeParticipant @kiwibloke62605]

I was called for jury service some years ago. I didn't want to play – it would have been inconvenient, I would probably have dozed off, as I used to in lectures, and free time in retirement is in terribly short supply. I discussed the possibility of getting excused with a friend, an ex-clerk of the court. His opinion was that I had no hope. Naturally, that became a challenge!

I wrote to excuse myself, stating that I thought the adversarial legal system was a poor way to establish the facts of a case, that evidence presented would likely be incomplete, but that the court had no way of knowing what had been witheld, that the legal profession did not have training in logic, and that it seemed to me that, in the courtroom, the ability of the counsel to win the case may have more to do with ability as an orator than as a logician. I therefore thought it most unlikely that I would be able to vote 'guilty' beyond all reasonable doubt, and thus my strong bias towards an 'innocent' verdict made me entirely unsuitable as a juror.

I was duly excused and haven't been called again.

[Bill PudneyParticipant @billpudney37759]

Living in Australia the system here is based on the UK one. Although obviously adjustments have been made to suit our unusually law abiding population. Twenty five years ago I was called up and was selected for an interesting dangerous driving case. I found the whole process fascinating, and would do it again in a heartbeat if asked.

cheers

Bill

[Jon LawesParticipant @jonlawes51698]

Do you mention this out of pride KB?! It seems to be a very odd boast.

[CirclipParticipant @circlip]

Found Jury service an interesting exercise. It did lead me to believe that there should be professional jurors. Reason being that the case I was on there were too many with external influences affecting the result. One had a business and at every opportunity was on the phone (Pre mobile), another had to catch a train before 4pm or it would mean an hour delay. Ones night shift wages were compromised, he also had racist tendencies, not a good thing when the case involved a "person of colour" prosecuting a "Non person of colour" and a jury foreman who' s benevolent reasoning totally changed the initial vote and allowed a perp to go free.

Two of us got it right but the "Defendants" record of guilty offence convictions was ruined by stupidity. Logic and the ability to listen and understand what's being presented are the clues.

Regards Ian

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