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Jury Service
Has anyone been called for jury service and able to give me firsthand info. on what it is like? I have to attend for jury service at nearby Crown Court in a couple of weeks - I'm nearly 65 and this will be a first time for me. I've been a stay at home wife/mum for 40 years and fill my days with chores, gardening, sometimes looking after grandson and I'm feeling anxious as to how I'll cope with just sitting for hours and listening to people talking. I hope I'm able to concentrate for that length of time without my mind wandering or, worse, starting to nod off!! Also worry about needing the loo in the middle of a session.
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I can't answer your question directly because I've only been called for jury service once and the headteacher of the school where I was teaching wrote to the court to state that students' examination results could suffer if I wasn't at work in the run-up to the forthcoming public examinations. My service was deferred and I've never heard anything since then.
However you might like to work your way through the links on the right of this page to learn more about jury service:
http://www.hmcourts-s...ury_service/index.htm
Chris
PS: Although I've not served on a jury I've observed many Crown Court cases (either as a reporter or, more usually, simply as a member of the public). From what I've seen, many jurors don't have to do a great deal because defendants often change their plea to 'guilty' at the last moment , obviating the need for a trial. (I've also known people who've been called for jury service but who simply sat around for a week or so because there were more potential jurors present than the court system actually required at that time).
However you might like to work your way through the links on the right of this page to learn more about jury service:
http://www.hmcourts-s...ury_service/index.htm
Chris
PS: Although I've not served on a jury I've observed many Crown Court cases (either as a reporter or, more usually, simply as a member of the public). From what I've seen, many jurors don't have to do a great deal because defendants often change their plea to 'guilty' at the last moment , obviating the need for a trial. (I've also known people who've been called for jury service but who simply sat around for a week or so because there were more potential jurors present than the court system actually required at that time).
I have Foxy a few years back.
You should find it interesting but it depends on the case and if the defendants solicitor dosent like your face he could reject you :- )
Mine was for a driver who smashed into the back of a mini at lights on red at roadworks and killed 3 young people.
It was really a waste of time going as the judge told us to bring back a not guilty verdict, work that one out, we never could?
You should find it interesting but it depends on the case and if the defendants solicitor dosent like your face he could reject you :- )
Mine was for a driver who smashed into the back of a mini at lights on red at roadworks and killed 3 young people.
It was really a waste of time going as the judge told us to bring back a not guilty verdict, work that one out, we never could?
I did jury service about 16 years ago. I found it very tedious - most of the time was spent waiting around and in fact I never got to hear any cases. Because of my circumstances at the time - I was self-employed and the 'expenses' offered provide no realistic compensation for lost earnings - I had to make it clear that I found the whole thing pretty inconvenient, as did my customers, and as a result the judge let me go home after a few days.
My sister-in-law, by contrast, found her experience rather traumatic - she had to sit on a lengthy case which I think must have involved a sexual/violent element. She felt that she wasn't prepared for this or offered any support afterwards.
Generally I found the court staff quite sympathetic. They were prepared to put your concerns before the judge, and obviously your employment, health and family commitments will be taken into account. I'm not sure about anxiety, because the vast majority of people are very nervous. It's the ones who aren't who are more of a concern, really, because it calls into question their ability to take their responsibilities seriously.
It's quite daunting, but I found that the briefing you're given on arrival was very comprehensive and there were plenty of opportunities to ask questions.
My sister-in-law, by contrast, found her experience rather traumatic - she had to sit on a lengthy case which I think must have involved a sexual/violent element. She felt that she wasn't prepared for this or offered any support afterwards.
Generally I found the court staff quite sympathetic. They were prepared to put your concerns before the judge, and obviously your employment, health and family commitments will be taken into account. I'm not sure about anxiety, because the vast majority of people are very nervous. It's the ones who aren't who are more of a concern, really, because it calls into question their ability to take their responsibilities seriously.
It's quite daunting, but I found that the briefing you're given on arrival was very comprehensive and there were plenty of opportunities to ask questions.
When I did jury service about 8 years ago, we were all taken into one of the court rooms for an explanation of the likely proceedings, shown where the jury sat etc. After returning to the waiting room, which had a cafe attached, about 20 potential jurors were called down for the first case, 11 were chosen, allowing objections from the counsel, and declaring that non of the knew the defendants. The remainder returned to the waiting area. This procedure went on until all the cases that were starting that day had juries selected. Eventually those of us still not selected were told to go home and return the following day. Day 2 followed the same pattern, without the explanations. Those already hearing cases returned to their court rooms when summons, the rest just waited. On day 3 I was chosen to sit on a jury. A couple of times we we asked to leave the court room while some legal arguments were made to the judge. After the judges summing up we were led to a separate jury room to decide on the verdicts. After reaching our final decisions we returned to the court room, where the person chosen as the foreman read them out. The judge deferred sentence until he had received reports from various authorities, therefore we never heard the sentences handed down. We were very lucky as there was supposed to be a case coming up that was going to last for at least 6 weeks, but no one seemed to be called for that case. On about Tuesday of the second week we were told that those not sitting on juries could go home and need not return as no new trials were scheduled to start during the remainder of our period of service.
You probably wont nod off, or need the loo, whilst hearing a case, but take plenty of reading matter as there is a lot of waiting about while waiting to be selected.
Good luck.
You probably wont nod off, or need the loo, whilst hearing a case, but take plenty of reading matter as there is a lot of waiting about while waiting to be selected.
Good luck.
Nobody will challenge you off a jury panel. The defence right to challenge without cause has been abolished. It doesn't matter whether the defence barrister doesn't like the look of you or not they can't do anything about it.
It was useful. The public thought that counsel objected to anyone who carried a Daily Telegraph but it was more subtle than that. What counsel wanted was a diverse jury, as mixed as possible, so that there'd be a range of opinion (or biases) and a lot of argument with no one person or group dominating or the whole 12 being of the same type.
Because of that there's no need for a lot of extra people to be summoned in case of challenges and less waiting for those who are summoned. Most cases are over in 3 days or so (I once saw two whole jury trials in one day !)
If you need the loo the court won't have you sit and suffer Sessions are typically 10,30 to 1 and 2 to 4 and you'll find there are other breaks for you because of legal argument, and other interruptions
It was useful. The public thought that counsel objected to anyone who carried a Daily Telegraph but it was more subtle than that. What counsel wanted was a diverse jury, as mixed as possible, so that there'd be a range of opinion (or biases) and a lot of argument with no one person or group dominating or the whole 12 being of the same type.
Because of that there's no need for a lot of extra people to be summoned in case of challenges and less waiting for those who are summoned. Most cases are over in 3 days or so (I once saw two whole jury trials in one day !)
If you need the loo the court won't have you sit and suffer Sessions are typically 10,30 to 1 and 2 to 4 and you'll find there are other breaks for you because of legal argument, and other interruptions
I loved it. It was soo interesting. I was there two weeks and in that time I sat in on 4 cases. They call your name out in the morning. Yes quite a bit of 'hanging around' time. Everyone's in the same boat, we used to do every crossword in every paper it was good fun. Used to take a packed lunch and have it in the beautiful grounds (at Snaresbrook) anyway. Do not take your knitting, or fall asleep during the trial. The Judge will come down on you hard. (£100 fine)
jem
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Hi, I`ve done jury service twice now and it does get boring, sometimes sitting around all day waiting to be picked and then being sent home and back again the next day.
If you are picked a typical day in the courtroom would be from 10.30 til 1.00 and 2.00 til 4.00, you are giving an expenses card for your lunch, £5.20 per day I think, and travel and parking can be claimed in some cases.
Being picked for a jury can be quite daunting, you are lined up in court infront of eveyone and if your name is read out you go and sit in the jury box and then have to stand up and read the oath, by this time your knees will be knocking like never before.
As for the next few days, weeks etc, it all depends on what sort of case you get, try not to make eye contact with the defendant/s or any of their friends or family as you`ll be spending each session thinking "Are they staring at me"
You will be with others who have never done jury service before and you will become a close knit group during the trial.
The ushers will look after you and there are lockers to store your belongings.
Good luck and enjoy the experience
If you are picked a typical day in the courtroom would be from 10.30 til 1.00 and 2.00 til 4.00, you are giving an expenses card for your lunch, £5.20 per day I think, and travel and parking can be claimed in some cases.
Being picked for a jury can be quite daunting, you are lined up in court infront of eveyone and if your name is read out you go and sit in the jury box and then have to stand up and read the oath, by this time your knees will be knocking like never before.
As for the next few days, weeks etc, it all depends on what sort of case you get, try not to make eye contact with the defendant/s or any of their friends or family as you`ll be spending each session thinking "Are they staring at me"
You will be with others who have never done jury service before and you will become a close knit group during the trial.
The ushers will look after you and there are lockers to store your belongings.
Good luck and enjoy the experience
I've just completed jury service. I'm 48 years old, and it was the first time I'd been summoned.
I only got to sit on two quite short cases - although I was in panels for two rather long cases - including one which was expected to last quite a few weeks.
As a juror on a case, you do have to pay attention quite hard - and that can be quite exhausting - especially if a witness is difficult to hear or understand. If you really cannot hear the witness, you just have to write a note to the judge, and pass via the Usher.
There can be quite a few breaks - often one of the barristers wants to raise a point of law with the judge, in which case the jury has to leave the court. - sometimes only for a few minutes, but sometimes for much longer.
Everything happens in what I ended up calling "Court Time" - for example if the judge adjourns the case until 10am the following morning, you have to have arrived in the Jury Assembly room by about 9:45 so you can be taken into the court a few minutes after 10 - but then you could easily be waiting there for 2 hours because something else has arisen - and that can be frustrating.
It seems that rather a lot goes on in the court room relating to the case - or even to other cases - but the jury is only there when the evidence is being examined.
The hardest part I found about serving on a jury is not being able to tell anyone about the case - especially if the deliberations go on into another day and you have to go home.
In fact, the only time you can talk about the case at all is when the deliberations start. Then it's a case of selecting someone to chair the discussions. It's rather important to get the right person, otherwise the deliberation might become a free-for-all where nobody gets heard.
The most important part of the deliberation is to realise that you aren't really deciding if someone is guilty or innocent - you ar
I only got to sit on two quite short cases - although I was in panels for two rather long cases - including one which was expected to last quite a few weeks.
As a juror on a case, you do have to pay attention quite hard - and that can be quite exhausting - especially if a witness is difficult to hear or understand. If you really cannot hear the witness, you just have to write a note to the judge, and pass via the Usher.
There can be quite a few breaks - often one of the barristers wants to raise a point of law with the judge, in which case the jury has to leave the court. - sometimes only for a few minutes, but sometimes for much longer.
Everything happens in what I ended up calling "Court Time" - for example if the judge adjourns the case until 10am the following morning, you have to have arrived in the Jury Assembly room by about 9:45 so you can be taken into the court a few minutes after 10 - but then you could easily be waiting there for 2 hours because something else has arisen - and that can be frustrating.
It seems that rather a lot goes on in the court room relating to the case - or even to other cases - but the jury is only there when the evidence is being examined.
The hardest part I found about serving on a jury is not being able to tell anyone about the case - especially if the deliberations go on into another day and you have to go home.
In fact, the only time you can talk about the case at all is when the deliberations start. Then it's a case of selecting someone to chair the discussions. It's rather important to get the right person, otherwise the deliberation might become a free-for-all where nobody gets heard.
The most important part of the deliberation is to realise that you aren't really deciding if someone is guilty or innocent - you ar
I've just completed jury service. I'm 48, it was it was my first summons - I'd been looking forward to it for 30 years!
I only served on the jury for two rather short trials - I was in the panel for several more, but didn't get selected. A couple of them were rather long cases - including one which was expected to last quite a few weeks..
When sitting in the jury box, you do have to pay attention, and that can be quite exhausting - especially if the witness is difficult to hear or to understand.
I found that the key to this was to take notes a lot of the time. Pens and paper are provided - you must just make sure they don't leave the courtroom. Also I avoided eating a heavy or greasy lunch, as that can make me feel sleepy.
The most difficult part of serving on a jury was not being able to talk to anyone about the case until we were in the deliberating room - this was especially the case when the deliberation had to continue the following morning. I didn't sleep well that night.
I think the key to efficient deliberation is to select the right foreman to chair the discussion - if it's a very contentious case, I can see that very heated arguments might happen.
Overall, I found the whole experience interesting and enlightening - but that is tempered with much frustration of waiting for a case, and even when on a case, waiting through frequent but irregular adjournments.
I started talking about Court-Time - for example the Judge adjourns the case until 10am - that means you need to arrive and sign in before 10am - perhaps 9:45 - so you can bee taken to court as soon as the judge calls. But then you might have to wait another 2 hours because other matters have arise in the court!
I hope this helps!
Ray
I only served on the jury for two rather short trials - I was in the panel for several more, but didn't get selected. A couple of them were rather long cases - including one which was expected to last quite a few weeks..
When sitting in the jury box, you do have to pay attention, and that can be quite exhausting - especially if the witness is difficult to hear or to understand.
I found that the key to this was to take notes a lot of the time. Pens and paper are provided - you must just make sure they don't leave the courtroom. Also I avoided eating a heavy or greasy lunch, as that can make me feel sleepy.
The most difficult part of serving on a jury was not being able to talk to anyone about the case until we were in the deliberating room - this was especially the case when the deliberation had to continue the following morning. I didn't sleep well that night.
I think the key to efficient deliberation is to select the right foreman to chair the discussion - if it's a very contentious case, I can see that very heated arguments might happen.
Overall, I found the whole experience interesting and enlightening - but that is tempered with much frustration of waiting for a case, and even when on a case, waiting through frequent but irregular adjournments.
I started talking about Court-Time - for example the Judge adjourns the case until 10am - that means you need to arrive and sign in before 10am - perhaps 9:45 - so you can bee taken to court as soon as the judge calls. But then you might have to wait another 2 hours because other matters have arise in the court!
I hope this helps!
Ray
Thank you Ray and everyone else who has taken the trouble to give their personal experiences of jury service. Ray you finished your first account in mid-flow - ".....you aren't deciding if someone is innocent or guilty, you are......????
One of my big worries is the continued concentration necessary and also the fact that I don't sleep particularly well, so am hoping I don't find myself nodding off if the trial is particularly boring. But as you all seem to say, there are frequent breaks in proceedings so a chance to walk about and 'wake up' a bit.
Thanks again everyone.
One of my big worries is the continued concentration necessary and also the fact that I don't sleep particularly well, so am hoping I don't find myself nodding off if the trial is particularly boring. But as you all seem to say, there are frequent breaks in proceedings so a chance to walk about and 'wake up' a bit.
Thanks again everyone.
Sorry - I'm not sure what happened there - I thought I'd lost the whole post and so I started again....
What I was saying was that the jury is supposed to decide whether it is sure that the prosecution has proved the defendant's guilt - rather than deciding whether it think's that the defendant did whatever it was.
Even if you think that the defendant committed the crime, you can't go for a guilty verdict unless you are sure that the case has been proved by the prosecution.
What I was saying was that the jury is supposed to decide whether it is sure that the prosecution has proved the defendant's guilt - rather than deciding whether it think's that the defendant did whatever it was.
Even if you think that the defendant committed the crime, you can't go for a guilty verdict unless you are sure that the case has been proved by the prosecution.
Well that's one of putting it FoxLee. Counsel are more worried about the judge being more convincing ! The judge has the last word, in the summing up before the jury considers its verdict, and what he (or she) says then counts for a lot. He may take the opportunity to assess the strength of counsels' points, for and against, in a tone which suggests clearly how good or bad these are, in his opinion. He may also stress some part of the evidence and not other parts,giving an indication, by that, what he thinks. In doing so he'll always be careful to say that it's a matter for you, the jury, to decide on the facts and to disregard any view of the facts he seems to express, if you don't agree with it,..He decides the law, you decide what to make of the evidence.In the end, counsel can only do their best with the evidence they can find in their side's favour and discredit anything the other side has, but you decide on the whole of it.
