Jury Duty

DadaKopf

I've just completed a two week stint on a jury in the Four Courts. I'm just curious as to how many people on the boards have done the same and what their lasting impressions and experiences were.

All I know is I'll never see things the same way again.

Boston

well did you find him guilty

Meh

So what was the case? Did you get sequestered in a plushy hotel? Were there cute female co-jurors? Tell us more...

DadaKopf

Well, we found the fella 'not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter' yesterday (Friday). And it was a retrial

All I can say is it was the toughest, most demanding and draining but intensely positive experience I've ever had. I'm glad I did it and I think everyone should sieze the opportunity to do it.

Edit: here is a list of articles about the murder since 1997 since you want to know .

b20uvkft6m5xwg

Jees that must have been a bit of a pain Dada... and a chunk of your time out of college, I'd imagine. Did you get any compensation or expenses- I thought there was usually dispensation for students to get out of it if they really wanted.

Luckily I'll never have to do it:D

DadaKopf

If you're a student, you're exempt from serving if you have a good excuse - I wanted to do it so I did it. It's my tough but when something like this calls, you gotta do it. That's how I see it. As for compensation academically, I have a letter of attendance so that'll go, I presume, to some kind of dispensation - the college can't penalise me or anyone in the least for doing it.

Why wouldn't you want to do jury duty, 80Project?

b20uvkft6m5xwg

Originally posted by DadaKopf
Why wouldn't you want to do jury duty, 80Project?

Law Students are exempt, as are barristers, solicitors and I think members of the Oireachtas.
I;m honestly not sure of the exact reason- but it is asked during jury selction AFAIK. I think its believed anyone who has studied law will be potentially biased when trying to assess a case as the "reasonable man or woman".

TBH, Doesn't make much sense to me

sceptre

80p, when you say law students are "exempt", does that include "are barred from doing it"? (law student here, remember)

potlatch

It's got something to do with privileged knowledge - I think the idea is that a jury is made up of 'average' people with no specialised knowledge (like being a forensic scientist or something). I suppose it'd be unfair if lawyers were on a jury - it might prejudice what's supposed to be a result arrived at through common sense. Well, that's what the website I looked at said.

b20uvkft6m5xwg

Seamus
AFAIK its "BARRED" as oppossed "EXEMPT"
I should have emphasised that- and what Potlatch says sounds familiar from what I heard about the process.

Dont know whether its something to be pleased about-
Personally I wouldn't like to be determing some of the more tougher cases- I'm too forgiving I think!

seamus

Originally posted by potlatch
It's got something to do with privileged knowledge - I think the idea is that a jury is made up of 'average' people with no specialised knowledge (like being a forensic scientist or something). I suppose it'd be unfair if lawyers were on a jury - it might prejudice what's supposed to be a result arrived at through common sense. Well, that's what the website I looked at said.

Exactly. It's "12 good men fair and true" or something like that isn't it? The whole point of a jury is to effectively have the public decide the crime, as opposed to it being called a crime as defined by law.

The Corinthian

I was called a few years ago, but I was in the middle of a big project so got out of it.

Originally posted by seamus
It's "12 good men fair and true" or something like that isn't it?

Or "a jury of your peers" - like that's likely to happen :rolleyes:

Gambler

How did you get called for Jury Duty? Did you get a letter in the mail or something?

Have never known anyone who was called for it so am quite curious. Wouldn't mind doing my civic duty sometime I must say..

gandalf

I have been called for jury duty twice. The 1st time back in 1995 I got my then employer to send in a letter saying I was a "valuable employee" and I got an exemption.

I got called again last year to the Central Criminal Court, tried the employers letter approach but it didn't work. I went in, I got picked for a jury where a father was accused of 50 counts of rape & sexual assault (I didn't realise they had to read every charge individually...!!!) but as the trial was scheduled to run for a few weeks and I was off on holiday the next week so I got off (phew close one).

I reckon I will be called again in 4 years, looks like I'm on "the list".

Gandalf.

b20uvkft6m5xwg

Meh:

So what was the case? Did you get sequestered in a plushy hotel? Were there cute female co-jurors? Tell us more...

Lads just remember the Jury Procedure is confidential
So the Ratio decidendi is privelged

However if anyone has any experiences ancialliary to the process do let us know:D

bombidol

I dunno if i would want to do it cause the system id so messed up, a friend of mine done it a while back and it was a case involving a traveller who had (Maybe) raped a buggered a mentally ill girl, and my mate said it was extremely obvious he done it but because she was mentally ill he could not be charged so he got away with it, everyone on the jury knew he done it but the evidence was not bullet proof.

bomb

yaledo

If i actually want to do jury duty, can i apply for it anywhere?

The Corinthian

Originally posted by Clain
Too low down the food chain, huh?

No comment. No point.

Originally posted by yaledo
If i actually want to do jury duty, can i apply for it anywhere?

And wanting jury duty would probably get you disqualified straight away (akin, I suspect to responding to a "why do you want to join the army?" question with "to kill people" ).

The Corinthian

Originally posted by Clain
There is always a point.

Nah. Not biting.

Clintons Cat

Having had to give evidence against a group of lads that beat me up in the early nineties i found the whole process totally alienating,it totally destroyed my faith in the judicial system.I would find it niegh on impossible to sit on a jury and veiw the defendants case with impartiallity knowing how cross examination can be used to distract/distort from the case in question.

For the record one pleaded guilty to ABH fine £260.Not his first offence.
the second pleaded self defence and was found not guilty.

DadaKopf

That's strange. My experience of being on a jury has absolutely restored my faith in Irish law. Patently, this is purely due to experience, I don't know anything about the system in the same way any lawyer does.

I agree that the entire process between the defence and prosecution is just a very serious college debate and the way the evidence is presented and what evidence is presented completely colours the verdict. I know that for a fact, my trial was a retrial and that facts and evidence was pretty shakey.

What jury duty did for me was to learn to take nothing for granted. I now, somehow, see the world in a different way. I'm very glad that the jury system still exists in this country because not only do you know that, as the accused, you have a bunch of people judging on common sense and not legalese, but it preserves something very important: our inescapable responsibility to contribute positively to our society.

Victor

Originally posted by yaledo
If i actually want to do jury duty, can i apply for it anywhere?

I thinks it's drawn from the Voters Register. As there is very little information (other than name, address and Nationality (relevant to the types of votes you can partake in)) on the register, the only criteria would be how recently you have done jury duty.

In practice, the self-employed, middle and senior management, and farmers tend to gain exemption. This leaves a slight bias in the composition of juries towards women, lower to middle earning workers, 'homemakers' and the unemployed.