Jury Service

bryanb

I know this is the wrong place for this, but there is no right place, so here goes.
I have received a Summons for jury service. I do not want to be excused or deferred from this.
However, my wife is booked for a day surgery cataract operation the day following my first day at court.I would like to be free that day to escort/drive her to and from hospital.
I realise that she could taxi to and from or make other arrangements.
Has anyone experienced similar problems, and is it possible to attend court the first day and ask not to be called till the day after her op? That is the third day. This is my first time jury service so I don't know whether there is any flexibility in the system.

FatAndy

When I did jury service (a long time ago now) there were two courts in operation so they needed 24 jurors but they called 30 people. They literally drew names out of a hat to pick the two juries and the remaining 6 people were put on standby. I can't remember if they allowed anyone to request that their name was left out of the hat though.

The other thing about my jury service was that of the two weeks I was on call I was only required to attend on three days. I sat on one trial which was finished by the end of the second day and then one other trial the following week which only lasted one day. I was a bit gutted to be honest as I was quite looking forward to seeing how the wheels of justice turn, not to mention getting a couple of weeks off work!

System

I think that this is something that can not really be answered until you arrive on the first day. It all depends on the caseload, suitability of other jurors etc.

magpiecottage

It is normally possible, in extenuating circumstances, to ask that service be postponed.

I suggest you write to the Court, enclosing proof of the appointment and ask if you might have the service postponed until after the operation.

Freddie_Snowbits

I recieved notification of Jury service when I was at College and there was space to fill out when i would not be available to do so. At the end of my course, I was in the High Court within weeks (Summonsed)

As this is a summons?, I would ask the clerk of the court for an excuse for the week that your spouse is hospital as this I think is allowed. If you do not, you may suffer the same fate as the two who failed to trun up on the Monday before his Lordship. The next morning they were hauled in and fined £1,000 pounds. They uttered sweet nothings as he explained that if they wanted to appeal, they had to go the the house of Lords as they had been convicted in the High Court!

DKLS

I'd happily pay a grand so I never have to do jury service.

bryanb

DKLS wrote: »

I'd happily pay a grand so I never have to do jury service.

I think I can fix it for you, just send £500