[Closed] Jury Service - What's the deal?

When I was called first time in the middle of exam preparation-Mid April -my employers at the time (6th form college) asked me to defer. I filled in a form and was asked when I would not be available in the following year due to commitments already set up such as holidays or further work commitments and was given a second date in early September. The college wasn’t happy but..... You cannot ask for a second deferment.
Explained here
https://www.gov.uk/jury-service/delaying-or-being-excused-from-jury-service

My two weeks of Jury service started Monday morning with training, a short trial Monday pm/ Tuesday am. Picked for second trial Weds am, hung around for three hours whilst being told nothing then released lunch time as defendant pleaded guilty. Not called again was released from service and told to stand down Thursday morning.

When I was called up for the 3rd time I was doing shift work and my Jury service fell across my rostered holidays, my company wouldn't allow me to move my holiday so i sent off my shift rota to the courts with the times I was available. All came back sorted and I got off work for 2 weeks.

Not sure how Jury service is going to work in our current climate..

My jury service consisted of waiting around for 3 days until I was finally called for a fairly straight forward case that lasted a day and a half. On the afternoon of the last day I was called for a trial that they said would last 10 weeks or more. It was a very serious fraud trial. Had to write a letter explaining that I would probably not have a job to go back to if I had to do it. I was excused from the case, felt like I'd escaped jail myself.

Its an utter pain in the ****ing arse.

Short of actually being dead deferring seems to be wishful thinking. I gave up a block of work as I had to do mine. Then they turned round at 11.59 on Monday and said I wasn't needed, which meant I didnt even get to claim the half sucked boiled sweet they offer as pay.

My wife got called for jury duty just before lockdown started.
She filled out the online form stating work commitments & lack of childcare, and was excused the service rather than deferred.
From what it said, she won't be called again for the foreseeable future.

2 weeks of complete boredom with just 20 minutes of action - case was abandoned when the woman next to me said she used to go out with one of the witnesses.

Rather than deferring, try writing to them and explain the situation.

Mrs took a career break with second kid then promptly got jury call up. Wrote and explained the situation with breastfeeding / care obligations and they wrote back to say no problem and we haven't heard from them since (15 years ago).

I got mine.

At the time I worked adhoc globally traveling at 12hours notice often and for between 2days and 2 months.

I phoned them and told them this.

Never heard back.

Take a book or something to do - you'll spend most of the time waiting. We got one pretty boring case - someone had stolen a cash box !

Thanks all, appreciate the insights. I guess she can get a letter from her employer allowing her to defer. After that she'll have to do it down the line. Timing is pretty terrible from our point of view, but c'est la vie

I hope its nothing that's going to leave a lasting effect 😕 If there's an excuse you can find that applies, use it.
Ok it is a civic duty, but if its something thats going to be harrowing, sometimes its best to look at how that would affect overall, as some would obviously take some subjects worse than others. OK, you dont know what the trial would be about, but if the wife/friend/yourself is the type to take the worse of humanity badly, would it not be in the best interests to defer/refuse, or however you can put that.

Sat in a waiting room with loads of others for 2 days, didn't get picked for any trial, then went home. What a waste of time it was...

I managed to defer the first one but was called 6 months later to attend. As others have said, you sit around a lot bored. In two weeks I was on 2 cases that only lasted a few days each and even then I wasn't in the courtroom that much.

I follow a lot of legal commentators on social media for work, and there’s a lot of consternation from barristers at the moment about the lack of adequate arrangements for social distancing in jury trials and for the professionals and other attendees in court.

If you have any particular health concerns I would be very worried, particularly if you’re going to a court in a densely populated place like London.

Seconding what dyna-ti said - I got a very distressing case and it had a negative effect on my life for about a year following.
If you were doing a paid job employers would have a duty of care but there's no such thing for jury duty and you're not supposed to discuss details afterwards, so you can't really get over it by talking thing through with friends unless they're very close, very discreet and very good at forgetting you ever mentioned it.

I was due to go on Monday 29th June but got informed a week ago that it was cancelled. The courts are not yet operating normally so she may not actually have to go. Don't know if I am now at the top of the list when it all resumes though.

Be better if they put all the case details online then just allow the public a vote.

We should all be thankful that juries are needed. For now. Then it will be up to some AI bot.

Picked for very complicated case. Sat doing nothing for four full days and one morning.
On the Friday midday was told the defendant had changed his plea to guilty. All home and didn’t see any ‘action’.

Get caught for doing something criminal and never get asked again lol

The Secret Barrister book is very illuminating on the whole justice system

Most harrowing thing I've ever done, 3 week case of a granddad molesting his two under 10 granddaughters. Video evidence by the girls was heart breaking. If you can get out of it do it just in case. It's not all petty crime & last minute guilty pleads

Completely agree with rd above. My dad got a particularly nasty case and it stuck with him for years. Never really talked about it but we all know it was some kind violent sexual assault and worse and lasted several weeks..

It seems incredible that there is no kind of support for jurors as my dad was totally unprepared for what he had to sit through.

We should all be thankful that juries are needed. For now. Then it will be up to some AI bot.

I would prefer an AI bot. Would remove the prejudices and ignorance that the majority of jurors will have and apply logic and objective thinking (remember the jurors are the general public who are not blessed with the ability to think that hard about stuff)

Kerley +1

-1 kerley.

Many cases come down to opinions of how credible a witness is.

I’ve been fortunate enough to be part of a jury that was able to clear a man of a trumped up sexual assault charge.

Not sure if I’d want an AI assessing that...

Go down to the courthouse and explain in person why you're unsuitable following this template.

There’s a problem in that the folk you want on Jurys are probably the ones with the knowledge and ability to dodge it.
As a contractor it’s financially painful, but it is a duty I take seriously. The process is poor though and could be improved.

Archaic system, needs replacing. Causes more disruption and financial hardship for the jurors than many of the defendants. Plus fully agree with Kerley, most of the British population are incapable of following a rational argument and work off gut instinct and emotion, Brexit and the recent response to Coovid 19 both prove that.

AI is not the answer (today) but professional jurors for serious cases (where the public are woefully unequipped anyway) provide them with training, support etc. Constantly mix the juries, less serious cases let the judge (or judges) decide, jury trial for nicking a cash box FFS.