Jury Duty

AllForIt · 03-09-2020 11:34PM

I did one in Southwark Crown Court London a long while back. I loved every second of it. They paid me fairly well and as I was working in the evenings I could have still worked but decided against it.

I was initially worried because the first case I was called on was predicted to last months. Fraud by employees in a government department. Turned out it ended as soon as it started due to some objection. So ended up on a relatively short 2 week road rage one.

The judge seemed to have a very short temper. I recall him throwing out an observer because he was eating sweets. He just wouldn't have it as he put it. Also, when a juror put up their hand at the very beginning of the trial he went "What? Questions already and we haven't even started!". Turned out the juror knew one of the witnesses, and that's not allowed. So a new juror had to be chosen.

I was a bit apprehensive during the deliberations at first because I didn't really follow the instructions about how we're supposed to conduit ourselves but as it turned out there were a couple of other jurors who had done it before so they knew what was what.

Deliberations took 3 days, not many hours per day I don't think. We came to an impasse where we had to convince one single juror to vote with the rest of us, otherwise I think it would have gone to a re-trial. We convinced that juror eventually and that was it. Not guilty verdict. On summing up the Judge seemed to indicate he agreed with the decision when he said "It was a difficult one".

raxy · 03-09-2020 11:37PM

I got called last year but excused because I'd nobody to mind the kids. Wanted to do it though.

Had a guard call to the house a couple of weeks ago though. I've been summonsed as a witness for a case now. Been told it probably won't go ahead though.

buried · 03-09-2020 11:40PM

raxy wrote: »

I got called last year but excused because I'd nobody to mind the kids. Wanted to do it though.

Had a guard call to the house a couple of weeks ago though. I've been summonsed as a witness for a case now. Been told it probably won't go ahead though.

This seems to be a frequent thing now, upcoming cases that probably won't go ahead. Were you told why it wasn't going to go ahead?

Yyhhuuu · 04-09-2020 12:12AM

buried wrote: »

Good luck if you are self employed and try to get out the f**king thing. The business I'm in, if I was paid everything I'm owed by bastard solicitors and barristers I could gladly go on Jury duty the rest of my life. C**ts.

Are the Legal Eagles very tight with their money then? They're certainly well able to charge.

buried · 04-09-2020 12:23AM

Yyhhuuu wrote: »

Are the Legal Eagles very tight with their money then? They're certainly well able to charge.

They use probate as an excuse to withhold money in an estate situation. A good lot of them in my experience actually try to create and manufacture conflict within a inheritance/will situation. Creates more business opportunities for them. A law came out about 4 years ago? Made it law for undertakers/Hoteliers to be paid for functions immediately, everyone else has to wait, some payments I've been waiting over 10 years. Its typical in this country. The law racket has the game sown up. For some jobs I have done I may never get paid.

Yyhhuuu · 04-09-2020 12:26AM

I have been summoned to a Jury but I asked to be excused as I'm concerned about Covid. I wonder will they insist on a doctors cert. I dont have a medical card and will have to pay for this . Otherwise I think I would go. I wonder if I was excused and changed my mind would they allow this. I really think the Jury should be paid. It appears from an earlier poster that they are paid in the UK. The Jury summons itself should include a cover letter from the Courts Service. The summons was unduly legalistic.The tone was appalling- demanding my attendance. It was as if I was after being sued. It actually annoyed me.

It's amazing the Juries Act was never updated: the amount of exemptions from Jury Summons are phenomenal. Privileged professionals who could well afford to take time off. I went into a few courts over the years and the Jury appeared to me to be mostly people who seemed to be less privileged or less affluent or less educated people enlisted on the Jury. This was just my impression. Perhaps I was wrong.

RedXIV · 04-09-2020 12:39AM

Yyhhuuu wrote: »

. I really think the Jury should be paid.

If it helps, apparently house insurance has a clause that allows you to claim for jury duty in several providers, at least from what I've seen so far?

pogsick · 04-09-2020 12:40AM

I did jury duty a few years ago, your employer must pay you as normal, you could be asked to work if jury duty is outside of your normal hours though.

Yyhhuuu · 04-09-2020 12:41AM

buried wrote: »

They use probate as an excuse to withhold money in an estate situation. A good lot of them in my experience actually try to create and manufacture conflict within a inheritance/will situation. Creates more business opportunities for them. A law came out about 4 years ago? Made it law for undertakers/Hoteliers to be paid for functions immediately, everyone else has to wait, some payments I've been waiting over 10 years. Its typical in this country. The law racket has the game sown up. For some jobs I have done I may never get paid.

You should watch out for the Statute of Limitations. If the debt exceeds 6 years then you may not be able to sue. If a part-payment is made it may effect the clock on the time limit , but I'm not a Solicitor.

I can understand why a Solicitor may not be able to pay immediately or for some time and why there would be a delay. The payment of debts would be a priority in the Estate distribution but the Solicitor will not be able to access the funds from banks, financial institutions or close a sale of a property until Probate or Administration issues. There may be undue delays in complex Estates in finalizing this. The only person laughing all the way to the bank is the Solicitor.

It is in the interest of the Solicitor that complex matters arise. Some of them also involve themselves in sending out unnecessary correspondence in order to bulk up the file to charge accordingly. I was a beneficiary in an Estate and dealt with them numerous times . I had to tell one to stop regularly sending me out letters with nothing in them. Another Solicitor used to send me out 3 separate letters in separate envelopes on the same day. It was obvious what was going on. They are in my experience a law unto themselves. The pomposity and arrogance of some of them is quite unbelievable.

Yyhhuuu · 04-09-2020 12:45AM

RedXIV wrote: »

If it helps, apparently house insurance has a clause that allows you to claim for jury duty in several providers, at least from what I've seen so far?

Yes and your no claims bonus increases at renewal or if you shop around at renewal. They always ask you how many years claims free.
I personally let my house insurance lapse.

begbysback · 04-09-2020 12:54AM

Did a stint there a while back, I’d actually recommend it to anyone as it’s an eye opener, plus the grub is decent, was there for a few days so you get to know some of the lads escorting you around the place, funny guys.

As a psychological experiment it’s fairly interesting to dump 12 random strangers in a small room and see what happens.

Yyhhuuu · 04-09-2020 01:20AM

begbysback wrote: »

Did a stint there a while back, I’d actually recommend it to anyone as it’s an eye opener, plus the grub is decent, was there for a few days so you get to know some of the lads escorting you around the place, funny guys.

As a psychological experiment it’s fairly interesting to dump 12 random strangers in a small room and see what happens.

So would you recommend it. Was it interesting.
? How long was the day and what time did it start at? Things have drastically changed now with the risk of Covid and the fact that it has been established but underreported that Covid-19 is airborne. This would worry me in a jury room.

YFlyer · 04-09-2020 01:23AM

Thelonious Monk wrote: »

I just got summoned for this last week. Again. A couple of years ago I got it for the first time and showed up at the central criminal court, and lo and behold they put me on the jury for that whole Sean Fitzpatrick thing. When we came to the first day of the trial the judge asked me to present myself and then said I was excused. I asked the usher why and he said something about a junior counsel having met me socially before, or something. It's actually a good thing that happened because it turned out I had worked with one of the main witnesses before and just wasn't listening when they asked if we knew any of the witnesses. I never found out who it was that knew me. Thank God I was thrown off though as the case ended up being the longest one in Irish legal history, 6 months of showing up to court at the far end of town.
Has anyone else been drafted? Share your jury stories here.

I mentioned twice I was studying. Got off both times.

YFlyer · 04-09-2020 01:28AM

gifted wrote: »

On jury duty a few years ago....first day in room under the court and a garda was taking our phone numbers ....all bar one of us called out our mobile numbers and then this chap called out his house number...we all looked at him stupid including the garda....most of our deliberations were about this buck who had no mobile lol lol

Was he a football manager?

KungPao · 04-09-2020 01:57AM

I’d quite like to do jury duty, but I am fairly prejudiced. Grey tracksuit, hand at or near groin, and smoke Jonnie Blue? Guilty.

To the gallows with him.

Mekirin · 04-09-2020 02:32AM

I did jury duty in 2011, the case involved a football coach who was accused of three counts of sexually assaulting one of the players who was a minor at the time. It was horrible to sit and listen to the evidence. The case was thrown out after the prosecution had finished presenting their evidence. I'm not sure of the exact reason why as we were kept in the jury room while the defence put their reasons to the judge.

Foweva Awone · 04-09-2020 07:07AM

I've never done jury duty but, pre-Covid, I used to often sit in on big cases in the Criminal Courts. Super interesting, but with none of the responsibilities of actually being on the jury.

Psychiatric Patrick · 04-09-2020 08:47AM

PsychoPete wrote: »

If I'm in court, I'm on the opposite side of the jury

Ah, Peter is it yourself.

pablohoney87 · 04-09-2020 08:54AM

I got my letter summoning me to JD literally the first day I was eligible to serve after college.

Ended up on a rape case. It was a frustrating one. We heard about a day and a half of testimony from the prosecution and cross examination and then for about a week and a half we were in and out of the Jury room because of confusions (or deliberate disruption) from both sides on what could and couldn't be said in court.

The Judge said there was no way he could expect a Jury to make heads or tails of whats going on and dismissed us and excused us for 5 years.

At the time I was on a zero hours contract and my boss was sound and scheduled me in for 40 hour weeks those 2 weeks. Don't know if what he did was legal even but made a difference to me ha.

Then again the very first month I was eligible to serve again after the 5 years I was summoned again however this time I was working in a small business on a client based role and my boss wrote a letter asking me to be dismissed which I was.

I'd love to know how they draw names or was it just a coincidence my name came up twice as soon as I could have served.

JohnnyFlash · 04-09-2020 09:01AM

I’d absolutely love to be on the jury for a good murder trial. Something like the Mr Moonlight one.

Nothing gangland, but one involving land, infidelity, jealousy, families, revenge, riding in hay barns etc.

Munstergirl854 · 04-09-2020 09:03AM

I know of a few people who were called and were mad to get out of it(and did).
I think I'd quite like the experience of it.

For high profile cases, is it really a random draw of names?

Psychiatric Patrick · 04-09-2020 09:05AM

JohnnyFlash wrote: »

I’d absolutely love to be on the jury for a good murder trial. Something like the Mr Moonlight one.

Nothing gangland, but one involving land, infidelity, jealousy, families, revenge, riding in hay barns etc.

A good old fashioned Irish one like!!!

ixoy · 04-09-2020 09:05AM

Done it twice, both in the Criminal Court and one big enough that we went in to watch the verdict announced as the headline news item on RTE. The second lasted longer, although made less waves.

I've more than done my time on them as far as I'm concerned and no interest in doing another.

BohsCeltic · 04-09-2020 09:08AM

Was called up a few years ago. Pretty serious case. Was picked on first day. In the court some people just said they weren't comfortable with the case and they were dismissed.

It lasted for 4 days with no verdict. Judge just thanked us and said we are exempt for 10 years.

greenspurs · 04-09-2020 09:08AM

Yyhhuuu wrote: »

Things have drastically changed now with the risk of Covid and the fact that it has been established but underreported that Covid-19 is airborne. This would worry me in a jury room.

:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

You can catch it over the internet also …………

Psychiatric Patrick · 04-09-2020 09:10AM

pablohoney87 wrote: »

I got my letter summoning me to JD literally the first day I was eligible to serve after college.

Ended up on a rape case. It was a frustrating one. We heard about a day and a half of testimony from the prosecution and cross examination and then for about a week and a half we were in and out of the Jury room because of confusions (or deliberate disruption) from both sides on what could and couldn't be said in court.

The Judge said there was no way he could expect a Jury to make heads or tails of whats going on and dismissed us and excused us for 5 years.

At the time I was on a zero hours contract and my boss was sound and scheduled me in for 40 hour weeks those 2 weeks. Don't know if what he did was legal even but made a difference to me ha.

Then again the very first month I was eligible to serve again after the 5 years I was summoned again however this time I was working in a small business on a client based role and my boss wrote a letter asking me to be dismissed which I was.

I'd love to know how they draw names or was it just a coincidence my name came up twice as soon as I could have served.

I've heard of that happening a few times - people getting called as soon as they become eligible for the first, second time.

I know many people who are never called. Including myself - been out of the country a lot over the years but don't think that is factor. How does the system know?

Psychiatric Patrick · 04-09-2020 09:12AM

ixoy wrote: »

Done it twice, both in the Criminal Court and one big enough that we went in to watch the verdict announced as the headline news item on RTE. The second lasted longer, although made less waves.

I've more than done my time on them as far as I'm concerned and no interest in doing another.

How many times can a person be called?

theteal · 04-09-2020 09:17AM

I got summoned loads of times. Once the system hits your name, it's going to keep happening. Called up twice during college years which I got out of for exams. A year or two later got called up for the below yarn. Then got called again maybe 2 years later but had to explain I had a 10 year exemption. I'm sure it would still be happening if I was resident.

Yup, did a murder trial in the four courts about 17 (feck!) years ago. Eastern European lad stabbed another eastern European lad in the midst of a heavy drinking session. The dead guy was a bit dodgy and accused was in fear of life so "got away" with manslaughter. I remember 10 of the jury were fully agreed on that and deliberations could have lasted mere minutes but there are always one or two with "these foreigners cant be coming over here doing crimes hur dur. . . .". Anyway, still finished by lunchtime that Friday but missed the mcdonalds breakfast thanks to the two xenophobic lads.

Psychiatric Patrick · 04-09-2020 09:23AM

KungPao wrote: »

I’d quite like to do jury duty, but I am fairly prejudiced. Grey tracksuit, hand at or near groin, and smoke Jonnie Blue? Guilty.

To the gallows with him.

I'd be worried about going full on Henry Fonda in 12 Angry Men

ixoy · 04-09-2020 09:25AM

Psychiatric Patrick wrote: »

How many times can a person be called?

Multiple times - there's no limit. I got a 10-year exemption the first time and only a 5-year exemption the second time (which I was annoyed at as the case was long).
Nothing stopping me being called repeatedly and bigger companies will generally not provide you with a letter to get out of it as they don't want to be seen to throwing their weight around.

Jury Duty

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