Jury service while pregnant?

funky-footprints

ive just had a call up too, im realy excited about it, but it dates the first week back in school, i cant possibly do it, I have an 18 month old, no child care for her, and 2 others i do the school run for !

Surely these powers that be, have every available resource to know what I do for a living ? ? I cant get to the court for 9am as Im dropping my children off at school at 9am !

I've asked for deferrment too just on that basis !

Kaz2904

My friend was called up when her son was 3 weeks old. He would have been 12 weeks when she had to do it. She doesn't drive, didn't have any childcare, was on mat leave and had just had a caesarian!
She was able to defer and hasn't been called back yet.

Fonnicx

I received a letter for jury service in April for me to start my service in June, but I asked to defer it as I am a teacher and was responsible for a final placement PGCE student at the time they wanted me to go. They wrote back to me and asked me to go in October instead (2 weeks away), which I was fine with. School have sorted my cover and everything.

But I have recently fallen pregnant and will be 7 weeks when I start jury service. I am anxious about feeling ill in court, and I lost a baby (my first) at 6 weeks at the beginning of July (I wasn't pregnant when I wrote back in April to defer it) and am anxious about that too.

Is this sufficient enough to be excused? If I'm feeling ill or worrying about my pregnancy, then I really don't know if I'm going to be able to concentrate.

Janepig

AFAIK you can only defer once, but I guess if you can get some evidence from your doctor for you being unfit to serve then I can't see as they'd make you.

I dread ever being called - if I do and they don't let me wriggle out of it, I intend to raise merry hell at the Court and end up not being called on the grounds of insanity .

Jxx

MrsTinks

I would write and tell them about your situation - I have extreemly bad morning sickness at the moment at 7+1 weeks and havign already been to hospital I doubt they'd want me LOL I personally wouldn't mind - after all I don't feel I have any right to comment on the "state of this country" if I don't pull my weight and serve my time should they ever ask. I don't know if they will though as although an EU national I'm not a UK citizen - despite paying my taxes and NI
Whether at the time I will be medically fit ofcourse could be a different matter - especially the way this pregnancy is going *sigh*

Rachel85

Fonnicx - can you go to your doctor and ask for a medical excusal on the grounds that you are carrying a 'high risk' pregnancy. If you also explain that you are experiencing morning sickness, etc. To be honest, I doubt on those grounds the court would want you there (in the nicest possible way of course!)

neverdespairgirl

That link is out of date - it says, "Members of certain professions, such as magistrates, coroners, barristers and solicitors, prison officers, police officers, clergy and ministers of religion are ineligible". That's changed - barristers, solicitors and judges are no longer excluded, and haven't been for a few years now.

My worst ever work moment was doing a drink-driving trial (defending) in a Magistrates Court when I was 4 months' pregnant. I'd applied for an adjournment, and it had been refused. We got cracking, and at one point i had to leg it out to the loos to throw up.

Then, with no warning, I threw up. In court. While cross-examining.

Looking on the bright side, nothing much can be worse in court in the future!

Janepig

neverdespairgirl wrote: »

That link is out of date - it says, "Members of certain professions, such as magistrates, coroners, barristers and solicitors, prison officers, police officers, clergy and ministers of religion are ineligible". That's changed - barristers, solicitors and judges are no longer excluded, and haven't been for a few years now.

My worst ever work moment was doing a drink-driving trial (defending) in a Magistrates Court when I was 4 months' pregnant. I'd applied for an adjournment, and it had been refused. We got cracking, and at one point i had to leg it out to the loos to throw up.

Then, with no warning, I threw up. In court. While cross-examining.

Looking on the bright side, nothing much can be worse in court in the future!

OMG, that's awful!! I hope you were well looked after (or at least provided with a bucket after that!!). Thankfully I never had morning sickness to that degree - my only scary moment was when I had about a month left to go when I was expecting DD and I was sitting in Court, minding my own business, when her head engaged - twice!! Dropped down into my pelvis the first time, obviously wasn't happy with it so she had another go! Not entirely sure how I didn't cry out.

Were you allowed to stay seated to do your speaking in Court when you were pregnant? One of the prosecutors where I work was allowed to, although I'm not sure if it was specifically because she felt unwell, although obviously prosecutors spend the most time on their feet.

Sorry to have taken this OT. :rolleyes:

Jxx

neverdespairgirl

We adjourned after that - the prosecutor suggested to the Mags that I was doing it to get the adjournment I'd asked for and not been granted at the start of the trial. I pointed out slightly irritably that there were things I would do for my clients, but throwing up and getting pregnant was taking it a bit far.

I stood, still, all the way through. Not sure why, looking back!

Janepig

neverdespairgirl wrote: »

We adjourned after that - the prosecutor suggested to the Mags that I was doing it to get the adjournment I'd asked for and not been granted at the start of the trial. I pointed out slightly irritably that there were things I would do for my clients, but throwing up and getting pregnant was taking it a bit far.

I stood, still, all the way through. Not sure why, looking back!

OMG, that's really cheeky. I can imagine that being said where I work, but only in a jokey way - I mean, as if someone would really do that just to get an adjournment :rotfl:.

Just out of interest (and further off topic - sorry), are you still defending (not the same person, obviously)? Women defence solicitors never last long in the Court where I work - we're losing another one shortly who is going to become a Local Authority prosecutor. There's only one woman defence solictor who's lasted longer than about 18 months, and she's very much <cough> one of the lads iykwim :rolleyes::D.

Jxx

Jxx