jury duty

[tigerlily11]

I am watching a show on BBC 1 and one of the subjects is jury duty. A man who refused was charged and given a fine for refusing to take part.
Do you think this is right. Should people have a right to say no if they don't want to take part?
Do some people, like the man talking now who has done it twice so far and likes doing it, take part on a jury because in some weird sense they like to pass judgement on others?
Could you do and have you? Or have you refused to do it? is there a legitimate reason not to take part i.e illness?
I personally couldn't do it. I am not in a position, I feel, to pass judgement on another human.
Thanks for your time

[joko]

my dad is terrified of this as he believes he will become a revenge target if the person goes down...such as the accuseds family and friends sitting in the dock, memorising their faces, perhaps following them etc etc

are there any cases of this happening?

[MONZE]

Is there not a new law to stop trial by jury? Just a judge alone and parties involved. It might not be an issue soon.

[lslowry]

I loved doing jury service. When the accused trooped into court i immediately sensed he was guilty as sin. Unfortunately he was one of the security guards who flanked the real accused. oops

[Androcles]

It is an interesting experience. I have been called several times the first time at the Old Bailey and served subsequently at a Crown Court. As New Judge says, you have to do it. You can defer it for various reasons, but you will get called again if you do.

The Law about no Jury trials is a recent piece of legislation, but only in certain circumstances - see for reference http://business.times...aw/article6984904.ece

[regulo]

Done it twice. Once at Old Bailey, once at Chelmsford, now been called again at Basildon. In my opinion, one of the most worthwhile experiences of my life. As has been said previously, you do not pass judgement, merely decide between you, after due consideration of the evidence presented whether the defendant(s) did or did not commit whatever they are accused of. Judgement is what holds the fabric of life together, if 12 citizens can't reach an agreement over what is basically right or wrong, then civilization would descend into a mire of anarchy and chaos. I would urge anyone called to jury service to accept, you would never then say someone didn't get a fair trial. That's not to say there haven't been wrong verdicts, but the jury can only decide on the evidence and arguments presented. If those are flawed, wrong verdicts inevitably follow.

[horselady]

Did it a few years ago, very demanding, dragged on for just over 3 weeks, but wouldn't have missed it for anything. We took quite a while to agree as one lady on the jury was the sort who just could not see the bad side of anyone and was sure the defendant was innocent. Took a lot of discussion, not arguments, to explain why the rest of us felt as we did and we all agreed "guilty" in the end. The best feeling in the world was after giving our verdict, they then read out all the many previous convictions, sentences etc and we knew we were right with our verdict.

[daftgrandad]

I have been called on jury service three times.On each occasion,I found the cases
tried to be very interesting and varied.
The best thing it showed for me,was an insight into how the legal system works.I would suggest to anybody,unless exempt,to attend.They will find it very interesting and informative.

[northernmonkey]

please can people tell me why THEY think being called upon to be a juror is such a a bad thing