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Been selected for jury service, (!!!!!!!!)

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Comments

  • fira
    fira Posts: 96 Forumite
    Tenth Anniversary 10 Posts Combo Breaker
    Jury Service has been pretty constant for me over the years, both the High Court and Sheriff Courts (in Scotland).

    Just following on from what someone said above, at the last one a juror who had been picked a few days earlier never appeared. Everything was delayed and in around an hour, she arrived. Two police officers had been sent to get her after she slept through her alarm. She was embarrassed as she was told to stand up in the jurors’ box and was given a long, long lecture by the judge. She mentioned later that the police asked if she had been drinking the evening before and had that caused the lateness as they may have to breathalyse her.

    I have to say too that when the clerk court checks everyone off the list before heading in to the court itself I'm always surprised at just how many haven't turned up. I wonder if the police are then sent out to find them.
  • duchy
    duchy Posts: 19,511 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Combo Breaker Xmas Saver!
    I enjoyed jury service when I did it but I also visited the courts and sat in for a while on the big phone hacking case where Rebecca Wade and co were tried. I felt really sorry for the jury as the evidence was mainly incredibly dry and boring and they looked bored out of their brains by several weeks in and knowing there were many weeks stillto go.
    I Would Rather Climb A Mountain Than Crawl Into A Hole

    MSE Florida wedding .....no problem
  • London50
    London50 Posts: 1,850 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    SailorSam wrote: »
    I don't think you'd receive anything, other than your bus fare and lunch.
    When i did jury service and was benefits, i wasn't paid 'cos they deem you not to be out of pocket.

    Apart from lunches I was not paid anything else when I did the Old Bailey 3 years ago as I had a freedom pass that was all they paid me.
  • Sncjw
    Sncjw Posts: 3,582 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    You have to claim the loss of earnings through a form you have 12 months from service to do ao
    Mortgage free wannabe 

    Actual mortgage stating amount £75,150

    Overpayment paused to pay off cc 

    Starting balance £66,565.45

    Current balance £56099

    Cc around £3200 

  • Kim_kim
    Kim_kim Posts: 3,726 Forumite
    Ninth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Nick_C wrote: »
    You need a decent employer who will pay you your normal salary while on jury service.

    I have - I'm thinking of others & worse still the self employed
  • bugslet
    bugslet Posts: 6,874 Forumite
    Nick_C wrote: »
    You need a decent employer who will pay you your normal salary while on jury service.

    Who needs a decent customer that will pay for the employer to pay the employee:p

    I'd like to do it, but I haven't had two weeks off ( unless Christmas falls 'right'), since 1991 and for work reasons I would end up resenting it.

    The other thing is expenses - it currently costs me £66.00 a day to put all the mutts in kennels, that's a minimum of £660.00 for the two weeks, maybe more depending on start and finish times.
  • agrinnall
    agrinnall Posts: 23,344 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Sncjw wrote: »
    Can I just ask. I am very hard of hearing even with a loop system I would find it difficult to follow what is going on. Would I be expemt if it ever comes to me. I would love to do jury service but I wouldn't be able to

    See point 61 in this document.

    https://www.judiciary.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/JCO/Documents/judicial-college/ETBB-Physical_Disability__finalised_.pdf
  • Surely I can't be the only one that thinks you should go?

    It is your legal and moral duty to do jury service. It is an important part of keeping society running.

    Have some self-respect for yourself, and some respect for your country, and do the service. Unless there is an extremely good reason why you can't do it.

    If you are an employee, your employer is required to give you time off to do jury service.

    Glad you said that, I thought I was the only one who thought like that.

    But then again I consider it my duty to vote as well.
    (AKA HRH_MUngo)
    Member #10 of £2 savers club
    Imagine someone holding forth on biology whose only knowledge of the subject is the Book of British Birds, and you have a rough idea of what it feels like to read Richard Dawkins on theology: Terry Eagleton
  • Gavin83 wrote: »
    If someone told you you'd lose thousands by attending would you still go?
    74jax wrote: »
    I wouldn't want to do it either. I've got off of it twice, would finally try to again.

    I think this is a very selfish attitude. Jury service is important. It is a pretty small part of living in a modern society which respects the rule of law.

    In plenty of countries around the world, national service is mandatory. The older generation had to do it in the UK too. This is nothing compared to that. Is it really so bad to sit on a jury for a couple days, especially given that you are allowed time off work and are able to claim expenses.
    It WAS until they abolished the oldest law in history.
    Double jeopardy.
    Now if they do not like what the "important" jury decides, they will just put them on trial again until they get the right result they wanted.
    What you are suggesting is not true. A retrial is only permitted in circumstances where there is new and compelling evidence. It is extremely rare for people to be tried more than once, this only happens in truly exceptional circumstances.
  • Is it really so bad to sit on a jury for a couple days, especially given that you are allowed time off work and are able to claim expenses.

    If called to sit more likely to be for at least a week , having had some experience of the system you also end up turning up and not being required if a witness has gone sick at short notice or both side have points of law to discuss. Some trials last months but you are asked if you can spare that length of time off of work.

    It's unfair to judge peoples circumstances but most judges will release a jurior if their attendance will greatly impact on their business, finances or employees , after all he/she doesn't want someone there who isn't interested in participating.

    It may be better if we just had a pool of juriors from all sections of society who have volunteered to serve who could be randoml;y picked with those with say financial knowledge being chosen for complex fraud cases etc, this would save time.
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